Switching Places
by generalquistis
Summary: Rufus runs away from home and starts living the normal life... and Cloud ends up in the ShinRa Mansion playing his part? Gee... sort of "The Prince and the Pauper" style but really much different from it... okay, fine... Cloud & Rufus switch places. What
1. 1

Switching Places

            By: General Quistis

            Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh.

---------------------------------------------------------- 

            The seven year-old Rufus ShinRa rushed out of the ShinRa Mansion as fast as he could, not caring if someone was running after him, yelling, "Master Rufus! Master Rufus! Come back!"

And then another voice yelling, "Rufus! You little bastard! Come back here! How dare you talk to me like that!"

Rufus continued to run, his hair already disheveled from sweat and his white clothes stained with blood.

Blood from his mother when his father shot her and she was still holding him in her arms, protecting him from the bullet. He clenched his teeth in too much rage as he stopped running and hid behind the well. 

He was never used to the surroundings outside of the Mansion, but he made it out alive.

He started to cry but avoided sobbing so that no one would hear him. He could remember leaving his pet panther in the house who just hid under the table during the events. He suddenly missed his mother and his pet… He covered his face with his bloody hands and just continued to cry. "I hate my life… if I go back there, daddy will kill me…" he thought miserably before wiping his tears away when he sensed someone watching him. He looked up at the person standing before him, expecting it to be General Heidegger, but it was not.

It was a little boy with the same features as his, except that he had spiky hair.

Rufus sniffed and got up, dusting himself. "What do you want?" he demanded.

Rufus and the little boy both turned to the streets when they saw some Turks and some guards running around the area, and General Heidegger shouting at them, "Faster! That boy is weak, he can't run that fast!"

Rufus clenched his fists. "But I just did…" he thought miserably before turning back to the little boy.

"They're looking for you," the little boy told him.

"No, that's not me," Rufus lied as he moved away.

"If you stay here they'll find you," the little boy said.

Rufus kept quiet. 

The little boy shrugged and just left him, walking down the street.

General Heidegger saw him and halted him, "There you are!" he said victoriously.

The little boy looked up at the fat man and frowned. The General stopped. "Oh… sorry, kid. Thought you were someone else… have you seen a boy in white?" he asked.

"You mean a ghost? There are plenty of those in the forest," the little boy replied.

General Heidegger shook his head. "No, you ninny! Oh never mind… you're just a child." He turned away and continued to run. "I could've sworn that was Rufus… if not only for that spiky hair and those class-less clothes…" he thought.

The little boy waited until everyone had gone off before he headed back to the well. "They're gone now," he told Rufus.

Rufus stared at him. "I thought you were going to turn me over to them…" he said.

The little boy shook his head. "No, I didn't. They're mean people. I don't like them." He admitted before finally leaving.

Rufus watched silently as the little boy entered a house. He somewhat felt envious. "Hmf… I'll bet he has a happy home…" he thought miserably before tears streamed down his face again upon remembering his mother.

Then, he stopped when someone spoke up from behind him. "Why, hello there, little fellow! Whatcha doin' outside your house at this hour?"

Rufus turned around and took a few steps backward when he saw a big man who looked nice. 

The man focused his gaze on Rufus, studying his bloodstained clothes, his face and his hands. "Oh my… are you injured, little fella?" he asked as he bent down to check on Rufus's hands.

Rufus neither squirmed nor moved away from the man. He also noticed that the man had an empty pail beside him. "He's probably going to get some water," he thought silently as he looked into the man's eyes.

Crimson.

"I don't see any wounds… what's with the blood? Playing a Halloween game or something?" the man asked.

Rufus shook his head sadly as more tears streamed down his face.

The man's heart sank as he saw Rufus crying again. "Aww, c'mere…" he said before giving the little boy a hug.

Rufus somewhat wished that his own father could be like this man. "Whoever is the child of this guy is really lucky to have a father like him…" he thought bitterly as he sniffed.

The man let go of him and smiled. "Where do you live? Let me take you back to your house, I'm sure your parents are already looking for you," he said gently.

Rufus moved away from him and frantically shook his head. "NO! D…don't! Please don't… I don't wanna go back… my daddy is going to kill me! He killed my mommy and then…" he stammered, trembling helplessly. He just cried.

The man approached him again and embraced him. "Oh man… really?" he asked, thinking where that boy really came from.

Rufus cried helplessly as he hugged the man. "My daddy is an evil man… I don't want to go back to him…" he said.

The man thought for a while. "Poor kid… must be hard for him," he thought silently as he examined his clothes. "I think he came from the elites… man, those people are weird. They have everything they want but they've got unstable families…" he thought silently with a sad smile on his face before patting Rufus's head. "Okay… but will you allow me to just get some water and then I'll take you back to my house?" he asked.

Rufus looked up at the man with curious eyes.

The man chuckled lightly. "I just can't leave you out here by the well! And looks like you haven't even had dinner yet. Don't worry, I just live in a house down the block with my daughter, so there's still room for a guest tonight." He told Rufus.

Rufus lowered his gaze to the ground and nodded his head, suddenly feeling so tired.

As he waited for the man to get some water from the well, Rufus sat down on the ground and he just fell asleep there.

The man had to carry him on his back as he headed back to his house. As he neared his house, he smiled gently when he heard someone playing the piano from upstairs and then heard the voice of a little girl singing, "_…and stay there as I whisper: how I love your peaceful eyes on me… but did you ever know that I had mine on you? Darling so there you are…"_

The man entered the house and closed the front door gently before putting down the pail of water in the kitchen and transferred Rufus in his arms before proceeding upstairs.

The singing and the piano stopped as he began to climb up. "She probably heard me," he thought silently. As he reached the second floor, he went straight to one of the rooms and was surprised to see that the door was opened. He stepped inside and saw his daughter "asleep" on her bed that was a lot bigger than her. He shook his head in disbelief as he placed Rufus beside her. "Tifa," he said gently.

The little girl opened her eyes, revealing their crimson color. She smiled and embraced her father. "Hi, daddy!" she greeted happily.

The man chuckled. "Careful, you might wake him up," he said, referring to Rufus.

Tifa moved away, clutching the blanket closer to her neck. "Wh…who's he?" she asked.

"I don't know… just saw him by the well. He looks so tired. Just took him home," he explained with a shrug as he ran his hands through the boy's hair. "Such fine hair… he must've come from the rich people." He said softly.

Tifa examined Rufus and touched his face. "Why is he bloody?" she asked.

"Don't really know, honey. But I gotta clean him up… wanna help me?" he asked.

Tifa made a face before moving away. "O…okay. I'll just get you the basin with water and some washcloth and then I'll step out of the room first." She said shyly before getting out of bed.

"Why?" he asked with a curious look on his face.

"You'd have to take off his clothes, I don't want to see naked boys! They're icky!" Tifa said with a disgusted look on her face before she ran downstairs.

Her father chuckled before he started to unbutton Rufus's white blazer.

After a few seconds, Tifa returned with a small basin of water and a clean washcloth. She placed the items on the bedside table.

"Can he sleep here?" her father asked.

Tifa stared at the Rufus for a while before nodding her head. "Okay… he seems harmless…" she thought silently before running out of the room.

*** 


	2. 2

Switching Places

            By: General Quistis

            Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh.

---------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Two

            Heidegger was already beginning to panic. "Gyah! We can't find the boy! The President is going to kill us!" he said frantically as he stomped his feet impatiently.

"Kya~h… and he said that if we return by midnight without Rufus… he's going to…" a much younger-looking Scarlet couldn't go on. She was new at ShinRa and already she would be in trouble…

"…put us in the Gas Chamber in Junon…" Heidegger muttered glumly as they finally got out of the forest. "Hmf… it's 11:30…" then, he remembered the boy with spiky hair. "I've seen this kid awhile ago, I thought he was Rufus but no… He could've fooled me back there…" he told Scarlet.

"What are you planning to do?" Scarlet asked.

A younger-looking, beardless and moustache-less Reeve arrived, panting. "Any sign of him?" he asked.

"Kyah… no, but Heidegger claims to have seen another boy who looks like Rufus." Scarlet said with a sly smile on her face.

Reeve froze. "Oh no… don't tell me you guys are up to something again?" he asked.

"Gyahahahahahahaha! Not really, Reeve, but we need to do something to save our necks!" Heidegger reasoned.

"Where did you see him?" Reeve asked, feeling something bad coming up.

"By the well over there," Heidegger replied as he led the way.

"If it weren't for President ShinRa killing his wife, we wouldn't be out here looking for Rufus!" Reeve muttered.

"Shh! You want anyone to hear you saying that? The President doesn't want this to be known to everyone most especially the goddamn media! It could ruin ShinRa's rep!" Scarlet snapped.

"Isn't ShinRa's reputation already ruined ever since President ShinRa started to womanize and gamble?" Reeve thought silently to himself as he rolled his eyes and just followed silently beside Scarlet.

Finally, they reached the well.

They stood there for a while, looking around. "Don't we look suspicious here or something?" Scarlet asked Heidegger with a ridiculous look on her face.

"Everyone's asleep by now, they wouldn't be going out." Heidegger said.

"If everyone's asleep, how come we're still here? What if Rufus took shelter inside one of those houses?" Reeve asked.

"He wouldn't do that… he knows that if he does that, we'll eventually find him. He could be stuck in the forest or something…" Heidegger muttered.

"Well if he's in the forest… there are wolves and other dangerous animals roaming around there! Kyah! What if…" Scarlet gasped as she covered her mouth.

"Shut up, Scarlet. Gyahahahaha… that's why we're resorting to plan B…" Heidegger said with a mean glint in his eyes.

Scarlet cackled. "Oh yeah! Kyahahahahahaha!" she said happily.

Reeve just rolled his eyes. "Well what are we gonna do here?" he asked.

"We'll just sit here until morning comes and the little boy will come here." Heidegger said.

"How can you be so certain?" Reeve asked.

Scarlet suddenly changed her mind. "Heidegger… if President ShinRa suspects something from the boy, we're gonna be in bigger trouble… kyah…" she said nervously.

"No, we won't get into trouble if we all play our cards right! I'm in charge here, okay? Just leave it to me!" Heidegger snapped.

"If we wait here until morning, the early-risers will see us get the boy. Wouldn't we be accused of kidnapping?" Reeve asked as he crossed his arms.

Heidegger froze.

"Kyah… Reeve is right…" Scarlet said.

"Gyah… okay. We'll…" before Heidegger could continue, he saw one of the houses' front doors open and the little boy with spiky blonde hair stepped out wearing a white sweater.

Heidegger's jaw dropped as he saw the boy. "There he is!" he said, pointing at the boy before pushing Scarlet to proceed. 

"KYAH! Why me? You approach him!" Scarlet said as she pushed Heidegger.

Heidegger turned to Reeve but he looked away, pretending not to have seen the little boy. With that, Heidegger sighed miserably as he approached the boy. "Hey, you there!" he called out.

The little boy stopped in his tracks and looked up at Heidegger.

Heidegger smiled at the boy. "Hehehe… how 'ya doin', son?" he asked.

The little boy just stared at him.

Heidegger cleared his throat. "Ahem… eheheh… so, uhm… why are you still up at this hour?" he asked.

"Can't sleep. Bad dreams. I'm taking a walk in the forest," the little boy said.

Heidegger was surprised with this boy. "You? Alone? Walk in the forest? Where are your parents?" he asked.

"They're gone. ShinRa killed 'em. Accused of…" but before the little boy could continue, he suddenly felt so sleepy and he just fell to the ground.

Heidegger was surprised and turned to Scarlet.

Scarlet smiled weakly at him. "Kyah… you're taking so long. I cast some Sleep on that boy. Now let's go!" she said impatiently.

Heidegger picked up the boy and carried him in his arms. "What about his hair?" he asked.

"And his clothes," Reeve reminded.

"We'll just tell the President that he got attacked by nasty wolves and his old clothes got torn into bits so we had to buy him new ones which he's wearing now… and the hair…" Heidegger approached Reeve and let him carry the little boy before getting his Swiss Knife from his pocket. 

Heidegger began to cut the boy's hair with the scissors. "Get some water from the well, Scarlet. We'll wet his hair and then brush it back." He instructed.

After a few minutes, all of them examined the little boy who was still asleep in Reeve's arms. They were all in awe upon looking at him. "He really looks like Rufus…" Reeve said in awe.

Heidegger nodded and laughed victoriously. "Gyahahahahahaha! Now let's get back to the Mansion and present this boy to the President!" he said.

"Wait a sec," Scarlet and Reeve both said in unison, stopping Heidegger.

"What now?" he demanded impatiently.

"Kyah… what if that boy wakes up and…" Scarlet trailed off when Heidegger kept on walking. "We'll take him to Professor Hojo for a while…" he said with a sly smile on his face.

Reeve frowned and looked at the boy. "Is this going to be our little secret?" he asked sarcastically.

"Looks like it…" Scarlet muttered before she and Reeve proceeded to follow Heidegger.


	3. 3

Switching Places

            By: General Quistis

            Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh.

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Chapter Three

            Rufus opened his eyes when he felt the sunlight hitting his face from the window. He blinked twice, adjusting his vision… then he just fell out of bed and hit the floor with a loud thud when he realized that a girl was sleeping beside him.

"Ow…" he groaned before standing up again and holding his hip.

The little girl had awoken to the sound of his fall and she was looking at him in awe. "Are you okay?" she asked with concern in her crimson eyes.

Crimson eyes.

Rufus finally remembered everything that happened from last night and then he began to cry again.

The little girl reached out to him and helped him up the bed again. "Aww, why are you crying?" she asked.

Rufus did not answer.

The little girl smiled at him. "My name is Tifa. What's yours?" she asked.

He sniffed before wiping his tears away. "No use crying now…  you can't change the past…" he thought silently with a sad look on his face. "R…Rufus…" he said with a trembling voice.

Tifa examined his features. "You sure your name is Rufus?' she asked.

He stared at her. "Why?" he asked.

"You look like someone else that I know, but his name is Cloud. He lives down the block… I could've sworn last night that you are him, but I thought twice about it when I saw your hair." She said as she held his hand.

Rufus pulled his hand away from her, since he wasn't really used to other people touching his hand especially girls. "Why, what's wrong with my hair?" he demanded.

"Nothing. It's nice. Compared to Cloud, his is spiky." She said before giggling. "Maybe if a lizard fell on it, the poor reptile will die! Heehee!" she explained.

Rufus could not understand what she was talking about, but he could remember the spiky-headed boy from last night. "I see…"  was all he said.

They were interrupted when Tifa's father entered the room. He was wearing an apron.

Tifa jumped out of bed and ran to him to embrace him. "Daddy!" she cheered happily.

He embraced her. "Hey, girl! G'morning. How was your sleep last night?" he asked before turning to Rufus. "Hello there, young lad. You're finally awake, I see… placed your clothes in the laundry so I let you borrow my old clothes from when I was a little boy your age," he told him.

Tifa let go of his father and then turned back to Rufus. "Daddy, I'd like you to meet Rufus." She said with a shy tone.

Rufus smiled weakly at the man, somewhat jealous at Tifa since she could hug her father. "I never received hugs from my own dad…" he thought sadly.

The man stared at Rufus, examining his features. "How come I've heard that name before… from ShinRa… if I remember right, the President has a son named Rufus…" he thought quietly; but he just smiled gently at the boy. "Did you sleep well last night?" he asked.

Rufus nodded. "Yes, sir," he replied, though he really felt uncomfortable with his current surroundings. He got used to waking up in his own big room, but this time, he was in a different room. A much smaller room. A girl's room. But he thought about it again, "At least I'm away from my father…" he looked up at the man. "You're not going to ask where I came from and then send me back there, are you?" he asked with a nervous look on his face.

The man studied the look on Rufus's face. "He must've been through a lot…" he thought silently before shaking his head. "No, Rufus. I won't take you back to where you came from… but I need to ask you some questions. Who knows, your parents could be looking for you now and…" he trailed off when Rufus's eyes grew wide. "I have no parents! My mother is dead… my father killed her last night… he… he shot her… and…" tears streamed down from his face again and he just covered his face and began to cry helplessly.

"Rufus," Tifa said, approaching him and hugging him. She could also remember when her own mother died. It was really hard for her.

"Don't worry, Rufus, I'm here… if you feel lonely because of your loss, I'm here. I also lost my mother so I know how you must've felt…" she told him reassuringly.

Rufus looked up at her and she tried his tears with her own hands. He felt so amazed by her but he did not say anything. 

Tifa's dad smiled gently at them. "Breakfast is ready downstairs, kids. I'll wait there," he said before leaving.

Tifa sat down properly, facing Rufus. "You can tell me everything that happened to you if you don't want to tell my daddy everything… I promise I won't tell," she said with a reassuring smile on her face.

Rufus sniffed and looked down, clenching his fists. "I… I was… having dinner with my mom last night… and my dad came home smelling so bad… like beer or something… She asked where he had come from but he got angry and started to shout at her… then… I don't know what happened… they just stormed out of the dining room and headed upstairs… I followed them, telling them to stop fighting but my dad won't listen… and then the next thing I knew, my mom… my mom was already hugging me like she's protecting me from something… and I saw the gun… my dad's holding it… and then… there's a gunshot… blood all over the place and… and…" he could not go on as more tears streamed down from his eyes. He turned his gaze to Tifa's eyes, smiling bitterly at her. "…and the next thing I knew, she's dead!" he continued.

She felt her heart sinking upon sympathizing with him, so she reached out to him and embraced him, wanting to comfort him. "Oh, Rufus, I'm so sorry about what happened…" she whispered gently, and surprisingly, she could feel her tears welling up in her eyes.

Unbelievably for Rufus, he could not even understand himself why he told her everything even if he knew all along that this girl was still a stranger… and she's hugging him?!

Tifa moved slightly away from him and smiled sweetly before wiping her tears away. "Where did you come from?" she asked.

He sniffed and wiped his own tears away as he looked down. "Th… the big house… ShinRa…" he replied softly, feeling so afraid that she might scream at him for finding out that he's a ShinRa.

The name was really popular all over the world…

Tifa blinked. "ShinRa?" she asked before touching his face. "You're Rufus ShinRa?" she asked.

Rufus moved away from her and nodded his head. "Please don't make me leave just because you know that I'm a ShinRa… I know that the name is cursed because of my father but… please, I don't want to go back there… he's going to kill me!" he said.

"But… but you need to tell the authorities that he killed your mommy!" she pointed out with a concerned look on her face.

Rufus shook his head. "I…I can't… ShinRa **_is_** the authorities…  they wouldn't believe me because I'm just a kid and daddy is the President…" he explained as he clenched his fists. "And if I go back there, he'll just abuse me… I'm so scared, Tifa," he said as he hugged himself.

Tifa swallowed hard as she nodded her head slowly. "I can't let him leave if that evil man is just going to hurt him…Rufus is a good boy…" she thought silently as she looked into his eyes and smiled gently as she took his hand and squeezed it gently. "Don't worry, Rufus… I won't tell daddy that you're a ShinRa. It'll be our little secret… just between the two of us, okay?" she asked.

Rufus smiled gently at her and nodded his head in agreement before hugging Tifa. "Thanks a lot, Tifa…" he told her happily.

Tifa giggled. "I'm sure you're already hungry. You wanna go downstairs now and eat?" she asked.

He nodded. 

With that, they got out of bed and walked hand-in-hand down the stairs going to the kitchen.


	4. 4

Switching Places

            By: General Quistis

            Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh.

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Chapter Four

            "Are you sure that what Hojo had injected in his bloodstream is really effective?" Scarlet whispered to Heidegger as they were eating their breakfast.

"I suppose so… the boy is responding to the name _Rufus_." He replied with a silly smile on his face.

Reeve rolled his eyes. "All secrets are going to be revealed eventually, guys," he told them.

Heidegger and Scarlet turned to Reeve with sick looks on their faces. "Kyah… at least it should wait until the President dies…" she said.

Reeve just shrugged as he rolled his eyes again.

*** 

            The little boy stared at his food and then to the strange man seated on the other end of the table.

President ShinRa stared at him. "Well, don't just sit there, Rufus. Eat your breakfast." He said with a nice grin on his face.

The little boy frowned slightly but he did not say anything. He just got his fork and began to eat the bacon. "Rufus? That's not my real name… I think my real name is…" he trailed off when a servant entered the room holding a newspaper.

"What's the weather report? I need to know it before I head off to Midgar," President ShinRa asked the servant.

She scanned the newspaper before handing it over to the President. "It says here that it's gonna be sunny, but outside, it's not, Sir. There are dark clouds outside." She announced.

President ShinRa and the little boy both turned to the window. The former snorted while the latter's blue eyes were wide in awe. "Cloud?" he thought. Then, he turned back to his food, feeling nervous all of a sudden. "My real name is Cloud…" he thought silently before proceeding to eat.

But he did not say anything more.

"Hmf… I'm going to Midgar, okay, Rufus?" President ShinRa asked, interrupted his thoughts.

Cloud turned to him. "Yes, father," he replied. He was surprised at himself for saying that. "Wh…what made me say that?" he thought.

President ShinRa studied him for a while and frowned slightly. "Hmf… I think this boy's still thinking about last night…" he thought silently as his eyes narrowed on him. "What are you thinking about, Rufus?" he asked aloud.

Cloud turned to him. "Nothing…" he replied.

President ShinRa didn't want to start an argument and then end up killing him when he gets impatient. "I can't risk him now… he's my only heir." He thought silently before proceeding to read the newspaper.

Cloud was just silent as he continued to eat. Somehow, he felt ridiculous with his new hairdo and his new clothes. "What do these people want with me anyway? That Heidegger said something to me this morning that if I end up telling who I really am to everyone, he'll kill me…" he thought silently as he chewed his food. "…which means I have to remain here until I get answers…" he thought miserably. Then, he looked up at the high ceiling and around him. "Well… at least I'm well-off," he thought silently, trying his best to cheer himself up.

*** 

            "He said that he came from Costa del Sol. His father was a boatman and when he arrived home from work, he was drunk and killed his mother out of insanity. It made Rufus run away because he's afraid his father might kill him…" Tifa fibbed before taking a sip of orange juice.

Her father turned to Rufus, hardly believing the story. Rufus just nodded sadly.

Tifa smiled secretly.

Her father shook his head. "B…but why not report it to the authorities?" he asked Rufus.

"I think he killed himself afterwards… I heard a gunshot. I didn't come back because I have nowhere else to go… I just took one of his boats to arrive here in Nibelheim…" Rufus replied with a weak smile on his face.

Tifa's father just nodded his head. "Okay…" he said plainly before drinking his coffee. Then, he spoke up again with an inquiring tone. "Didn't catch your full name, young lad. _Uncle _if you want… but please, not _Mister Lockheart_. Don't wanna sound formal, you know?" he asked with a wink.

Rufus and Tifa exchanged wide-eyed looks with one another before turning back to her father. "Rufus…" Rufus began.

"…Strife!" Tifa continued for him.

Rufus and her father both turned to her. "Strife?" her father asked before turning back to Rufus. "How are you related to Cloud Strife who lives down the block?" he asked with a smile on his face.

Rufus shook his head. "No… no relation." He replied.

"Daddy, Rufus came from Costa del Sol. The Strifes there are different from the Strifes here and anywhere else in the world," Tifa explained as she crossed her fingers under the table.

Her father just nodded. "I see." He said simply before drinking again. 

"Daddy," Tifa began.

"Yeah?" he asked, turning to her.

"Can Rufus live here with us?" she asked with a pleading look on her face.

He thought for a while.

"Please, daddy? The orphanage is far from here… and I don't want him to be lonely there…" she pleaded as she clasped her hands together like she was praying.

"Well then… okay… but he'll have to stay in your room… and I think you'd better hurry up with that, Tifa. Don't wanna be late for school," he said, referring to her unfinished toast.

"School?" Rufus asked, suddenly recalling that he never went to school; he had private tutors.

Tifa blinked and turned to him. "Can't Rufus come with me?" she asked.

Her father examined Rufus. "But Tifa… he doesn't study there… I can't pay for his tuition fee, you know?" he asked.

Tifa had this disappointed look on her face, but Rufus spoke up with a determined tone. "I could just borrow your notes or you can teach me when you get home… is that okay with you, Tifa?" he asked.

Tifa smiled happily. "Of course, Rufus! Sure!" she said happily before she continued to eat and then got up from her seat. "I'll go get dressed," she said before running up the stairs.

"Careful, honey!" her father called out.

Silence.

Rufus continued to eat. He somewhat missed his old home, but whenever he thought about his own father living in it, he just wanted to forget it and stay with Tifa and her father.

"How old are you, Rufus?" Tifa's father asked, interrupting the silence.

"Seven." He replied without looking at him.

Tifa's father examined him. "Is it really okay with you if you stay here? This is a small place we have here… and I'm sure you really came from a well-off place." He said.

"You mean you don't believe that my daddy is a boatman?" Rufus asked, trying to sound convincing.

He chuckled lightly. "No, Rufus… of course I believe you… but your clothes and your looks are really different from us ordinary people," he explained.

Rufus smiled slightly. "I understand what you mean, sir… but my mommy just wanted to keep me looking clean and neat all the time…" he said.

Tifa's father nodded his head slightly. "Okay… I see… well then, since you're going to be living here, you might want to help me with the household chores?" he asked.

Rufus's eyes grew wide in awe. "Chores?" he asked.

Sure, he had seen the servants clean the house and do kitchen work, but he never really got the chance to do those. He was never allowed to do chores. 

"Yeah… like sweep the floor, wash the dishes, cook some food, do the laundry, dust the furniture… those kind of things." Tifa's dad told him.

Rufus just nodded without thinking. "I guess I could learn if you teach me… sir…" he replied.

He laughed. "Ohohoho! I told you to just call me _Uncle_, okay?" he asked.

Rufus smiled and chuckled. "Okay, Uncle." He said.

He suddenly felt safe and happy, forgetting his troubles and all his worries…


	5. 5

Switching Places

            By: General Quistis

            Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh.

---------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Five

            Tifa entered her classroom and took her seat. "I wonder what Rufus is doing now?" she thought silently with a smile on her face as she brought out her notebook, preparing for class which would be starting in a few minutes.

She was already in the first grade.

When she got a little bored, she began to doodle at the back page of her notebook, but she stopped when she heard a few classmates talking about an insignificant other in her life.

"You know that Cloud Strife from the second grade?" 

"Yeah, that guy with spiky blonde hair? I think he's cute!"

"Eww! You're gross!"

"Why, what happened?"

"He's missing!"

"Missing? Missing on classes? But I just saw him go to school yesterday!"

"No, he just disappeared!"

Tifa just raised her eyebrows and shrugged before continuing to doodle, but she stiffened when she heard more talking.

"I heard from mom and dad that last night, they heard a gunshot from the big house!"

"Me too! I heard it too! It was scary!"

"You think somebody died in there?"

"I don't know… but you know that President ShinRa is a bad man, according to grandpa…he could've killed someone!"

"Ohh, I'm scared of him!"

"Maybe he killed his wife!"

"Oh yeah? How would you know that?"

"Because every morning, I can see her in their garden, but this morning, I didn't see her!"

"Maybe she's sick or something…"

Tifa bit her lower lip, thinking about Rufus. She was really glad that her father had let him stay with them. "I really feel so sorry for him…" she thought silently as she began to write his name.

*** 

            "I'm only supposed to be studying pluses, minuses, multiplications and divisions… how come they're giving me square roots?!" Cloud thought miserably as he stared at his math book.

The tutor had fallen asleep beside him because he was taking a long time to answer the exercises.

Then, he turned his gaze to the black panther cub looking up at him from the floor. "Meowrrr," she said with nasty look on her face.

Cloud frowned at her before he was interrupted by someone who opened the door. "Hello, Sir Rufus," 

It was Reeve and he was holding a math book for Grade 2 students. "Having difficulty, sir?" he asked as he placed the book before the little boy and then turned to the sleeping tutor. "I think we have to fire him and get you another one…" he muttered glumly.

Cloud turned to the black panther cub again. "What's her name?" he asked.

"I thought you named him Dark Nation, sir?" Reeve asked, trying to act casual.

Cloud nodded. "I just forgot…sorry…" he said.

Dark Nation climbed up on his lap and yawned before falling asleep there.

Reeve was thankful that Dark Nation did not harm Cloud or else it would blow their cover. "Does he know who he is?" he thought silently as he observed Cloud's eyes. He just checked out the boy's citizen record and found out that his real name was Cloud Strife and that he is already in second grade. "Problem is his birthday… it's on the 19th of August… which is right now… and President Rufus's birthday is on the 23rd of December… I just hope that this kid doesn't really realize everything. I'm afraid that Hojo's formula could just get washed off from this kid's system in time…" he thought silently as he watched Cloud opened the new math book and began to read through the multiplication lesson.

Reeve watched him silently, observing how he studied. "Heidegger told me to fire this tutor or else he'll realize that this boy doesn't know algebra yet… and we'll get busted… in the meantime, I'll just have to teach this boy myself until he reaches President Rufus's level… which is already equivalent to first year high school…" he thought silently as he tapped the tutor's shoulder.

The tutor jerked up and stood up, facing Reeve.

Reeve smiled kindly at the tutor. "You're fired." He said calmly.

The tutor stared for a while before he grabbed his things and left.

With that, Reeve sat down beside Rufus. "Need any help?" he asked.

Cloud nodded. "Yes, thank you, Sir Reeve." He said politely.

Reeve smiled at him before he started the lesson on multiplication.

*** 

            Mister Lockheart observed quietly from his peripheral vision as Rufus continued to sweep the floor. Mister Lockheart was washing the dishes and he was thankful that Rufus was very eager in doing household chores and he never complained.

Rufus did his job well and happily continued it. "This is quite fun than sitting around just watching TV… though I really miss just sitting around… but I have to do this if I want to stay here… I don't want to go back to ShinRa…" he thought silently with a secret smile on his face.

"You're learning fast, huh, Rufus?" Mister Lockheart asked.

Rufus turned to him and smiled proudly. "Thank you for teaching me, Uncle." He said.

"No problem, Rufus. It's basic for every person: know how to do chores and manage a home so that if poverty strikes, you know how to take care of yourself." Mister Lockheart explained with a wink.

Rufus nodded his head in agreement. He was also surprised to find out that he is enjoying his stay in that place… away from all the luxuries in the world.

"So, Rufus, tell me. What are your interests?" Mister Lockheart asked.

"Me? Oh, I enjoy Marketing, Finance, Business Administration, Economics, Accountancy and knowing what's going on in the Stock Market." Rufus said happily.

Of course, Mister Lockheart was in awe upon hearing that from a young boy like Rufus so he ended up gaping at him. Rufus noticed his sudden reaction so he cleared his throat and laughed. "…I also enjoy music, reading and technology." He continued with an embarrassed smile on his face.

Mister Lockheart nodded in disbelief. "You must be a smart kid, huh?" he asked with a wink.

Rufus blushed. "Eh… thanks…" he said shyly before proceeding with his work. "I also play the piano." He added.

Mister Lockheart smiled gently at him. "Well, my Tifa also likes to play the piano. She also sings well." He pointed out.

Rufus blinked. "Really?" he asked, hardly believing it.

"There's a piano in her bedroom in case you want to play it. You may." He told Rufus.

Rufus smiled. "Thank you, Uncle." He said, then thought for a while before speaking again, "May I know what time Tifa would be coming back?" he asked.

"She'll be here by lunch. She's only in first grade. Half-day. What about you, Rufus, what grade are you in right now?" Mister Lockheart asked.

Rufus felt hesitant for a moment but he replied anyway, "First year high school…" with an embarrassed smile on his face, expecting that Mister Lockheart would not believe him.

He was shocked. "First year high school? Really now?!" he asked as he faced Rufus with a look of awe.

Rufus nodded nervously. "I…I got accelerated several times… You can test my knowledge if you want to…" he said.

Mister Lockheart thought for a while before smiling kindly at Rufus. "Okay, what's the formula of the Pythagorean theorem?" he asked.

"c2=a2+b2" Rufus replied without any effort as he continued to sweep the floor.

"One divided by zero?"

Rufus looked up to him. "Undefined." He replied.

"Why did the chicken cross the road?" 

Rufus raised his eyebrows. "What?" he asked in awe.

Mister Lockheart stared at him for a while and then laughed heartily. "Just testin' you, Rufus. But do you know the answer?" he asked.

Rufus smiled. "Sure… to get to the other side?" he asked.

Mister Lockheart approached him and smiled proudly at him. "You've proven yourself to me already. If I could just send you to school, you'd be in the gifted class… But tell me, Tifa is going to be teaching you simple additions and subtractions and spelling easy words… don't you think you should be going on to major stuff?" he asked.

Rufus shrugged. "It's okay with me. I can teach myself, really." he said.

"I've got some textbooks upstairs for high school, college and graduate studies in case you wanna take a look at them." Mister Lockheart said.

Rufus really liked Mister Lockheart and wished that his own father could be just like him. "Thank you, Uncle. I'd really appreciate it." He said reassuringly.

*** 

            Tifa was playing the piano while singing "London Bridge". Rufus just remained seated by the study desk reading the textbook about Geology. 

Tifa stopped and turned to him. Upon noticing that she stopped playing, he also looked at her. "Why did you stop?' he asked.

"I thought I might be disturbing you… you're studying," she said.

Rufus smiled gently at her. "It's okay, really. I like listening to you," he admitted shyly.

Tifa smiled sweetly at him. "Thank you, Rufus," she said before she started playing again.

As she played and sang, Rufus thought of his own mother. She was the one who taught him how to appreciate music and play the piano. Again, he felt like crying, but he didn't want to anymore. "I must not cry anymore… I should be happy here… with Tifa…" he thought silently before turning back to his book. But he was frowning. "I wonder why dad finally gave up searching for me? I didn't hear anything about Heidegger and the others." He thought silently. "Hmf… maybe he never really cared about me. He's probably just going to get another woman and marry her and she'll bear him a son who can be his next heir… he probably thinks I'm dead by now… oh well, whatever. Curse him." He thought with a shrug before proceeding to read.

After a few moments, they were interrupted when they heard a voice from the door, saying, "Bedtime! It's 9:00." 

They stopped their current activities and turned to the door, surprised to see Mister Lockheart standing there.

Tifa smiled. "Okay, daddy," she said cheerfully before running to him and reached up to him. He stooped down so that he could kiss her cheek. "G'night, honey." He said.

"G'night, daddy," Tifa said.

Rufus smiled at them. Mister Lockheart turned to him. "G'night, Rufus." He said with a gentle smile on his face.

"G'night," Rufus said as he nodded his head before putting down the book and headed for the bed.

With that, Mister Lockheart closed the lights and got out, closing the door gently.

Tifa got up on the bed and covered herself with a blanket.

Rufus had his back to her as his blue eyes stared blankly into the darkness, thinking of random things about his former life in the big Mansion.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard her voice, "Rufus?"

It seemed to tremble.

"Yeah?" he asked. He still did not feel sleepy because he could not help but relive the events from last night in the mansion.

The gunshot. The blood. The screams… 

Everything.

"I'm scared…" she admitted with a trembling tone as she turned to the side, their backs already facing each other.

"Of what?" he asked with a tone that seemed to reveal that he did not want anything to do with it. "I shouldn't be afraid…" he thought silently.

"Of the dark," Tifa admitted.

He laughed. "You're afraid of the dark?" he asked mockingly.

"Rufus?!" she wailed.

"Awoooooo!" he wailed softly, as if imitating a ghost.

"Stop that!" she snapped as she covered her ears, but she could still hear him.

"Have you heard about the video tape that when you watch it you'll die in seven days?" he asked.

"Stop it, Rufus!" she said, nearing tears.

Rufus heard her voice falter so he faced her and moved closer to her. To Tifa's surprise, he embraced her. Her crimson eyes were wide in awe.

Rufus rested his head against her neck. "My mother used to hug me whenever I get afraid of the dark…" he admitted softly, trying his best to stop himself from crying again.

She smiled gently. "Me too…" she said as tears streamed down her face as her hands traveled to his hands, touching them gently.

"I'm sorry, Tifa," he told her. 

He was not used to saying sorry to people he had offended, except for his own mother, something from deep inside of him had forced him to do so.

With that, they fell asleep; with Rufus still hugging him, and a slight smile could be seen on Tifa's face…

*** 

*** 

*** 

*** 

*** 


	6. 6

Switching Places

            By: General Quistis

            Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh.

---------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Six

Author's note: History had been changed because of the events…

*** 

*** 

            Mister Lockheart slowly opened the door to Tifa & Rufus's bedroom and he surprised to see that Rufus had his arms wrapped around his daughter.

He raised his eyebrows, feeling so stunned. "Goodness… I'd better get them separate beds already… or maybe just clean up the old attic and transform it into a room… they're already 15." He thought silently. With that, he left the room.

Tifa heard the door closing and she slowly opened her eyes, trying to adjust her vision to the sunlight hitting her face. "Ugh…" she grunted as she tried to move, but she couldn't. Her eyes grew wide in surprise when she realized that Rufus was hugging her. She began to feel nervous. "Oh my God?!" she cried out.

It made Rufus wake up and open his sleepy eyes. She was squirming away from him. His eyes grew wide in surprise and embarrassment that he immediately let go of her. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry!" he said as he moved away and sat up, but he ended up falling off from the bed.

Tifa's face was red in unexplainable embarrassment and a little rage. "Rufus, how many times must I tell you not to do that?" she asked.

"I…I… ow…" he sat got up slowly, rubbing his hip. "Sorry… I guess I just got used to it… I mean, I've been doing that ever since we're 7 and you used to…" he trailed off when she made a face. "…like it…" he continued before starting to look at her. "I'm sorry… I'll just sleep on the floor next time. I'm really sorry," he muttered glumly.

"We're 15, for crying out loud, Rufus."  She said with a patient tone.

"I know… but sometimes, I just get carried away…" he told her with a wink.

Tifa blushed and got off the bed. "I understand…" she said softly before heading outside.

Rufus watched as she got out of their room. He sat down on the bed again, raking his fingers through his hair. He couldn't believe that he had been living with Tifa for eight years already…

He had to admit to liking her secretly, but careful not to reveal it. She had grown to be a very pretty woman and her body seemed not to fit her age because it looked very mature already despite her height of 5'4". 

Rufus was much taller than her, about 5'10". He was very handsome and many girls had been after him ever since he reached puberty but he made it a point to stay away from them. For him, Tifa was the only beautiful girl in his eyes.

However, he was still cold towards other people. "Maybe that's why I really don't have friends… except for Tifa… she's the only real friend that I have, which is good, I suppose, because if I become popular with everyone, word might reach ShinRa and they'll finally detect me…" he thought silently as he began to fix their bed.

Their bed.

He felt a little nervous when the phrase kept on repeating in his mind. "I think I should be moving out of this room and just start sleeping in the couch downstairs…" he thought. He was interrupted when Tifa entered again with a sad look on her face. 

"What's wrong?" Rufus asked.

Tifa sat down on the bed and sighed heavily. "Dad's going away…" she replied.

Rufus frowned. "Where is he going?" he asked.

She did not answer. She just got up and went to the door. "Breakfast is ready downstairs," she told him before she got out.

He did not move for a few seconds, thinking what was going on with her.

*** 

            Scarlet started to knot the necktie. "Kyah… you look very handsome, Sir Rufus. Except for that hair… we should cut it, you know?" she asked with a smile, referring to his spiky hair.

Cloud touched his own hair and frowned slightly. "I don't see anything wrong with it, Scarlet," he said.

"Kyah… look at your pictures from your childhood! You look neater!" she said.

Cloud shoved her hands away from his tie and started to knot it on his own. "I can handle this, Scarlet." he told her.

Scarlet sighed heavily. "You're 15 years old, Sir. You'll soon be the Vice-President when you reach 18." She pointed out.

Cloud frowned slightly as he faced the mirror. "…and still, I don't know who the heck I really am…" he thought as he scanned his own blue eyes. "I'm sure 15 isn't even my real age… like I'm a year older than that…" he thought silently as he flipped his hair. "Who is that Rufus anyway?" he thought as he lowered his gaze to the floor after he finished with his tie. "I know, Scarlet… and today, I'll be transferring to Midgar," he said aloud with a slight smile on his face.

"Kyahahahaha! Your father is really very proud of you," she said excitedly.

Cloud's smile faded. "I'm not proud of him…" he thought silently.

Then, the door opened and there was Heidegger. "Gyah… the chopper's ready, sir." He said.

Cloud nodded his head. "Are all my things there already?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Scarlet and Heidegger replied in unison.

"And Dark Nation?" he continued.

"Ready to go, sir," Heidegger replied.

"Let's go," Cloud finally said before grabbing his blazer and wearing it.

*** 

            "Rufus," Tifa asked as they were walking down the street.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Is it really fine with you if I follow my dad?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. After all, I'm here." He told her.

Rufus looked up at the ShinRa Mansion as they passed by and he stopped in his tracks when he saw the front door open.

Tifa grabbed his hand and tugged it. "Let's go, they might recognize you," she told him with a nervous look on her face.

But they were not even able to move when they saw a guy with spiky blonde hair and blue eyes step out of the Mansion, followed by Heidegger and Scarlet. They were headed for the chopper.

Rufus's eyes grew wide upon seeing the blonde guy.

Tifa gasped.

Cloud saw them and his eyes grew wide in surprise that he stopped walking, causing Heidegger and Scarlet to also stop and turn to the direction where Cloud was looking.

Heidegger and Scarlet were surprised.

Rufus's mouth dropped open.

"R…Rufus?!" Heidegger thought.

Rufus clenched his fists before he grabbed Tifa's arm and pulled her with him as he began to walk away.

Heidegger was about to go after them but Scarlet grabbed him back to stop him. "No, don't!" she hissed.

Heidegger pushed her away. "But…but that's…" he stopped when he realized that the pilot and the other servants were looking at them. "Damn these people… if I say that that's Rufus, they'll discover our secret…" he thought silently.

Cloud turned to the ground with wide eyes. "Wh…who are they? How come it seems to me that I've seen them before?" he thought silently as he touched his head.

*** 

            "So that's why they aren't looking for me because…" Rufus trailed off, feeling so disgusted. "My father is really a big fat bastard!" he yelled angrily.

Tifa swallowed hard, feeling a little bit afraid of him because she had never seen him so angry before.

Rufus faced her with an angry look on his face. "My father married another woman and then they produced another heir and…SHIT! For the love of my mother, he's such a fucking bastard!" he said frantically as he paced back and forth.

Tifa bit her lower lip. "Rufus, I don't think that guy is really your father's son… I could recognize him from somewhere…" she said.

Rufus took a deep breath and exhaled ruggedly as Tifa came closer to him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "I remember that I knew this boy named Cloud Strife. He just disappeared the next day after your mother died. I could've sworn you were Cloud when I first saw you, but you're not. It would mean that both of you have the same features and…maybe Heidegger and the others just used him to cover up for you." She explained.

Rufus just stared at her with a hurtful look in his eyes. "But look at his hair?!" he said.

"I don't know how they did it, Rufus, but…" she trailed off when he spoke out again, "Damn… almost forgot about Hojo… with his not-so mediocre mind, he could just make a formula to brainwash that Cloud and… and turn him into me…" he moved away from Tifa as he raked his fingers through his hair.

Tifa felt so nervous. "R…Rufus," she began.

He turned to her again with a confused look on his face.

She smiled sadly and looked down. "…are you going back to ShinRa?" she asked.

He studied her. "Go back?" he asked.

She just shook her head. "N…nothing. Forget it." She said before turning away and continued to walk.

Rufus went after her and joined her but did not say anything more.

*** 

            Cloud got down from the chopper a few moments after it landed.

Reeve smiled at him. "Hello, Sir," he greeted.

Cloud ignored him and looked around the place. "So this is Midgar," he said.

"Sector One. ShinRa's main HQ." Reeve told him as he looked up at the tower.

Cloud turned to the exit, taking a good look at what's outside the HQ premises. His frown deepened when he saw a girl with braided brown hair wearing a pink dress and holding a basket of flowers. She was just passing by but she stopped when she noticed that someone was looking at her. She instantly turned her gaze to where Cloud is and though she didn't have any idea who he was, she smiled at him before proceeding to leave.

Cloud did not move, stunned by her smile, until Heidegger tapped his shoulder and urged him to go inside already. "The President's in his office," he said.

Cloud looked away and just proceeded inside the building, still with confused thoughts.

As Heidegger, Scarlet and Reeve followed in a distance from Cloud, Hojo called their attention.

The three turned to Hojo and just let Cloud go on alone.

Heidegger walked over to Hojo and frowned at him. "Are you aware that President Rufus **_is_** in Nibelheim?" he demanded.

Reeve and Hojo were surprised. "What?" the former asked.

"We just saw him this morning and he's with this girl. He still looks the same except that… ugh… he's wearing… kyah… ordinary clothes that don't even suit him." Scarlet explained with a disgusted look on her face.

"Really?" asked.

"And our little clone must've recognized Rufus and the girl. I think the three must've known each other before." Heidegger said.

Hojo nodded slightly. "I see… well then, I don't think Cloud would get busted, huh? Things are going smoothly. He acts almost like Rufus, he looks exactly like Rufus except for the hairdo… but he still isn't smart enough to be like Rufus." He explained.

"Kyah… I'm getting nervous here… what if Rufus comes for us and kill us for that switch?" Scarlet asked.

"He won't. He doesn't wanna come back." Heidegger said.

They were silent for a while.

"Besides, we have another major problem… though it's not yet well-discussed by us." Reeve told them with a frown on his face.

All eyes turned to him.

"I'm suspecting that Cloud could be returning back to his own self," he replied.

Hojo smiled when he heard that. "Relax, you ninnies," he said as he adjusted his glasses. "Nothing bad will happen to Cloud. We've been observing him and putting pills in his drinks ever since he was a little boy. I'm quite sure that we'll be alright." He said.

"What about your cloning experiments?" Heidegger asked.

Hojo thought for a while. "Oh you mean Sephiroth? Can't continue that. I've been too busy developing stronger formulas for that Cloud to take so that no one, most especially President ShinRa, would suspect that you guys brought home a mere look-alike of the real ShinRa heir." He said with a mocking stare at Heidegger, Scarlet and Reeve.

"Gyah… you can't help but blame us, huh? Well then, you'd better remember that if one of us gets busted, you're also to suffer the consequences! You're the one brainwashing the boy," Heidegger pointed out before leaving them with an annoyed look on his face.

"Kyah…" Scarlet said glumly.

"Don't worry. We will not get busted. With my genius, we can control the boy like he's just a puppet… and play his role as Rufus ShinRa." Hojo reassured Reeve and Scarlet.

The two just exchanged confused glances before leaving Hojo alone.


	7. 7

Switching Places

            By: General Quistis

            Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh.

---------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Seven

            Cloud turned around but the others were not there anymore. "Great… I don't even know where dad's office is…" he thought miserably before entering the elevator and pressing the button to the 70th floor.

It took him almost two minutes to reach the 70th floor, but he did not care. He was still bothered by what he had seen before he left Nibelheim. "I know I've seen them before… but how come I can't remember their names?" he thought silently as he stepped out of the elevator and looked around the place. He turned to his left, surprised to see the secretary seated with a pile of papers on her hand.

"Good morning, sir. Your father is expecting you," she greeted.

Cloud ignored her and turned to the door. "Is that his office?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," she replied.

With that, Cloud proceeded without even knocking, but the moment he got inside, there was no one there. "Where is he?" he thought.

He went to the secretary again. "There's no one here," Cloud said.

The secretary got up and peered inside. "Well, he must've left without saying anything…" she said.

Cloud got inside the office again and went to the desk, seeing a note taped on top of the telephone, saying, "Be back for dinner. Important meeting." 

Cloud sighed heavily. "He hardly shows himself up to me anyway," he thought miserably before finally leaving the office. "He went out for an important meeting." He told the secretary before he proceeded to the elevator with an annoyed look on his face.

*** 

            She got back inside her house with a sweet but rather shy smile on her face as she placed the basket of flowers on the floor by the kitchen doorway.

"You there, Aerith?" said a voice from the kitchen.

"Yes, mommy," she replied with a voice that sounded happy as she entered the kitchen.

Her mother examined her face and noticed her blushing. "Anything wrong, Aerith?" she asked with a probing smile.

Aerith sat down on the chair by the dining table and sighed dreamily as she leaned back. "Nothing, mommy," she replied as she smiled shyly.

Mrs. Gainsborough stopped slicing the carrots. "There's this glint in your eyes revealing that there's something good, huh? What's going on, dearie?" she asked with a smile on her face as she approached her daughter.

Aerith shrugged. "Nothing, really… I'm just happy," she said gently.

Mrs. Gainsborough sat down. "Okay… and where have you been this time?" she asked.

"Sector 1." Aerith replied simply.

"And what did you see in Sector 1? I thought I already told you not to go there! It's dangerous! " her mother said with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't worry, mom. Nothing happened to me… except that… did you know that President ShinRa's son just arrived today?" Aerith asked with an excited look on her face.

Mrs. Gainsborough thought for a while before responding with a sly smile on her face. "Oh, I get it… you saw Rufus ShinRa?" she asked.

Aerith giggled and looked away. "Yes…"

"And you like him?" her mother asked with a hard tone.

"…Uh…" Aerith bit her lower lip, not knowing how to answer.

Mrs. Gainsborough sighed heavily. "Aerith, Aerith, Aerith… if you're going to love someone, don't pick out someone from the elites… most especially the ShinRas!" she pointed out with a stern look on her face, though her voice still sounded gentle.

Aerith sighed heavily. "I know, mom… but something in Rufus is different… like he's not similar to all the other stuck-up elites…" she said with a look of longing on her face.

Mrs. Gainsborough shook her head in disbelief before she went back to the kitchen counter to continue slicing the carrots. "Well… I advise you not to see him again." She said plainly.

Aerith just looked at her mother before she got up from her seat and sighed heavily as she headed to her room upstairs. "Yes, mother," she said softly.

But as she plopped down on her bed, she hugged her pillow tightly, still thinking about him and the way he looked at her. She smiled sadly before she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

*** 

            "So, Rufus… how do you find Midgar so far?" President ShinRa asked with a sly smile on his face before gobbling up a piece of meat.

Cloud turned him from the other end of the long table but he did not smile, "It's fine. Can I have a look around outside this building tomorrow morning, since it's already 8:00 pm?" he asked.

"Take the Turks with you." President ShinRa said.

"Can't I go alone?" Cloud asked.

"No." President ShinRa snapped sternly.

Cloud fell silent before pushing his plate away from him. "I just lost my appetite," he said before standing up with an annoyed look on his face.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Where are you going, son?" President ShinRa demanded as he pounded on the table.

"To my room. You told me to keep track of the bids in the Stock Market, remember? So I'm watching their channel," Cloud replied with a mean tone as he headed for the door.

"You're not going anywhere until I finish this dinner!" President ShinRa snapped.

Heidegger blocked Cloud's way. "Better follow your dad, Sir," he whispered softly.

Cloud narrowed his eyes on the fat man before turning back to face the President. "What am I going to do here?" he asked.

President ShinRa's angry expression faded away as he motioned for Cloud to sit down again.

Cloud sighed heavily before obeying.

"It's about time you had a girlfriend, Rufus," President ShinRa said with a sly smile on his face as he winked.

Cloud frowned at him. "I don't need a girlfriend." He snapped.

"But I think you do. It's for the good of this company. If not a girlfriend, maybe someone who'll introduce you to the pleasures of being a man! Harharharharhar!" 

Cloud listened to him and his laughter… it sickened him, but he did not say anything.

President ShinRa stopped laughing when Scarlet suddenly entered the dining room, panting and looking so disheveled. "President ShinRa!" she called out in panic.

All eyes turned to her. "What is it, Scarlet? What's with that new look?" President ShinRa asked with a ridiculous smile on his face.

"Kyah… there's this man who got killed near one of the Mako Reactors… kyah… since he was intruding… kyah… one of the Soldiers killed him… kyah…" Scarlet explained while trying her best to speak properly.

"Hmf… well then, dispose of him! I have no time for things like that!" President ShinRa snapped impatiently before taking a sip of wine.

"But sir… isn't this a warning that… kyah! That there are terrorists and that we should already be tightening our security?" Scarlet asked.

"Scarlet's right, dad." Cloud backed up as he nodded.

President ShinRa felt so annoyed. "Will you just leave me alone here? Rufus, go there and see the goddamn corpse and tell the others to dispose of it," he commanded.

"At least I'll be getting out of here if I do so," Cloud thought miserably as he stood up and went to the door with Scarlet and Heidegger.

*** 

            "Does he have an I.D. with him? It could be in his wallet or something…" Reeve told them as he stooped down and examined the dead man on the floor.

Cloud just stared at the man slumped on his stomach to the ground. "Was he alone when he came here?" he asked.

"We don't really know… the Soldier who shot him also got killed by I don't know… Kyah…" Scarlet explained as she stared in disgust at the dead man.

"Maybe his companions." Cloud told them before his eyes narrowed at the sight of Reeve pulling out a wallet from the man's back pocket and then opening it to check for I.D.'s. After a few seconds, he revealed to Scarlet, Cloud, Heidegger and some Soldiers an I.D. card. "Lockheart," Reeve announced the surname.

Cloud's mouth dropped open. "Lockheart?" he echoed. 

Somehow, he could recognize the surname but it was not very clear to him. "I… I think I know him…" he said softly.

"No, you don't!" Scarlet, Reeve and Heidegger all said in unison with a tone of denial.

Scarlet ran to Cloud and patted his shoulders. "Kyahahahahaha! Sir Rufus, why would you even know this guy? Besides, _Lockheart_ is such a very common surname, you know?" she asked.

"Gyahahahaha! There are over a thousand Lockhearts all over Midgar and only 5% of them are related! Gyahahahahahaha!" Heidegger explained with a laugh.

Cloud frowned angrily at him. "Stop that horse-laugh! It's annoying!" he snapped angrily before turning away from them. "Dispose of that goddamn corpse and I want all of you to tighten the security around here." He commanded before he exited.

"Gyah…" Heidegger muttered.

Reeve snickered. "Looks like _Rufus_ has his days, huh?" he asked.

"Gyah!" Heidegger screeched at him before walking away.

Reeve got up and crossed his arms before turning to the Soldiers. "Cremate him and throw his ashes into the sea." He commanded.

"Kyah… why do that?" Scarlet asked with a snotty look on her face.

"It's the least we could do for him. We don't even know him. I'm sure his intentions were good… I really don't like the idea of having these Mako reactors, you know?" Reeve told her in a whispery tone.

Scarlet snorted. "You're really deranged, you know that?" she snapped before walking away.

*** 

            "Daddy didn't come home for 5 nights already… I wonder how he is…" Tifa wondered sadly as she sat down on the well.

Rufus frowned slightly as he sat down beside her. "…Look, I'm sorry if you feel bad about not being able to follow him because I stopped you…" he began.

Tifa shook her head. "No, Rufus. It's not your fault. I just thought it'd be better if I just stay behind here…" she looked up at him. "…with you," she said.

Rufus raised an eyebrow as he felt his blood rushing to his head. "Why?" he asked, not really knowing what to say.

Tifa shrugged and smiled gently. "Oh you know… you are Rufus ShinRa. I don't want you to feel lonely because that's the feeling that they've been giving to you ever since you were born, I guess." She said.

"Not really… I have my mother." He said with a smile as he patted her head.

Then, she sighed heavily and looked up at the starry sky.

Rufus noticed her sudden sadness. "Is there anything wrong?" he asked.

"Do you have any intention to go back to ShinRa?" she asked after a few moments of silence, still keeping her gaze up into the night sky.

Rufus looked down. "Yes," he replied.

Tifa's eyes widened before she turned to him. "When?" she asked with a rather demanding tone.

Rufus did not even look at her. "Once old man dies… I'll take my place. I have to." He told her.

"But why?" she asked, her voice faltering as she tried to stop the tears.

"Show them who's the true heir. It's only old man whom I don't want. The rest is easy." He explained with a rather cold look on his face.

Tifa swallowed hard and looked away with a very sad and disappointed look on her face as she clenched her fists. "Maybe it was all a big lie… hoping for nothing…" she thought silently. "…but when you go away, will you still remember me?" she asked.

Rufus looked at her but his eyes narrowed upon noticing that her head was turned away from him, like she was avoiding his gaze or something or she doesn't want to see him. He could feel his heart sinking, realizing what was really wrong with her. "Damn you, Rufus! You just had to make her cry, huh?" he scolded himself silently, mentally kicking himself; but he smiled gently as he got her hand. "Don't be ridiculous, Tifa… of course, I'll still remember you!" he said.

Tifa somewhat smiled, but she still felt bad as she looked up at him, staring into his blue eyes, but she did not say anything. Her eyes were damp with tears but they did not fall… she would never let them fall in front of him.

"I'll always remember you." He told her reassuringly.

It took a lot of energy for Tifa to respond, but still, her voice faltered, "…You promise?"

He examined her crimson eyes. "…somewhat yes," he replied with a cold look.

Her eyes widened in confusion, especially when he just put his arm around her shoulder and sighed heavily after laughing heartily. "…You really think I'll leave you alone here, Tifa? Of course not!" he told her as he looked down at her and leaned her head on his shoulder as he smiled proudly. "I'm taking you with me," he told her reassuringly.

Tifa's mouth dropped open as she looked up at him with a look of disbelief, but she was smiling unbelievably. "Wh…what?! R…really?" she asked in awe.

"Would I even lie to you?" he asked with a wink.

Tifa laughed lightly as she shook her head. 

"If it's okay with you, Tifa," he said conditionally.

She smiled as she clasped her hands together on her lap and moved closer to Rufus. "Of course, Rufus… it's okay with me…" she told him reassuringly.

With that, Rufus looked up at the skies.

"You promise?" Tifa asked as she looked up at the night sky, suddenly feeling happy.

"Yes. I promise," he replied softly as he smiled gently.

And as she reached for his hand and interlaced her fingers with his, a shooting star fell.

*** 

*** 

*** 

*** 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Author's Note: Yeesh… to tell you the truth, I hate too much mushy stuff… but I have to write this for the sake of the story… gyah… please forgive meh…  ;_;


	8. 8

Switching Places

            By: General Quistis

            Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh.

---------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Eight

            "Happy birthday, Sir Rufus!" 

Cloud covered himself with his blanket when he heard the loud voice coming from Scarlet as she entered his room one early December morning on the 23rd. 

"I am certain that my birthday is on the 19th of August…" Cloud thought miserably as he forced himself to sleep again.

"Kyah… get up from there, we need to take you back to Midgar because your father wants you to celebrate your 20th birthday there!" she said as she pulled the blanket away from him.

Cloud opened his eyes and gazed up at the blonde woman. "If he wants me back in Midgar, how come he sent me here in Junon?" he mumbled as he got up.

Dark Nation yawned and nuzzled her head close to Cloud's arm. "Meowrrr…" she purred happily.

Cloud patted her head before proceeding to get his robe.

"Kyah… you're the Vice-President, sir. Your father assigned you to take care of Junon," Scarlet said.

"And what are you doing here? I thought you're supposed to be in Midgar attending to him?" he snapped.

"Kyah… just arrived here at around 4 am to fetch you, Sir Rufus," she said quite cheerfully.

"How did you come here?" he asked as he faced the mirror and checked his hair.

"The chopper, sir," she replied.

Cloud gazed out at the gloomy skies from outside his window. "It's winter in Midgar, right?" he asked.

"Yes, sir." She replied.

With that, Cloud turned to the couch and saw a white suit all ready and pressed. He frowned as he approached it. "What's this supposed to be? You're gonna make me look like a snowman!" he told her.

"Kyah… you love white, remember?" Scarlet asked, but at the back of her mind, she was thinking, "I think they failed to make him drink the formula last night…"

"No, I don't like to wear that. I'd like something blue," he began as he went to his closet.

"But sir, if you wear a blue suit, you'll end up looking like a Turk!" Scarlet reasoned.

"Okay, fine… I'll wear black." He said as he began to rummage through his closet. 

"Kyah… you don't have black suits," Scarlet said, beginning to become impatient as she proceeded to the door. "I'll just go down for a while to get your _vitamins_, sir," she said before she got out.

Cloud could not figure out what those vitamins are for… but he knew that every time he took them, he starts to blank-out a little and then end up getting confused… but Heidegger said that it was for his own good if he wants to stay smart.

He just closed his closet and got the white suit that had been prepared for him earlier. "Shit…" he muttered.

He was interrupted when Scarlet entered again with a glass of water and three red capsules. "Here you go, Sir," she announced as she approached him and handed him the items.

Cloud shoved in the three capsules in his mouth and then drank some water. After he swallowed everything, he headed for the bathroom to get dressed. "Wait for me outside and take Dark Nation with you," he commanded from inside.

*** 

            Rufus had awakened from the sound of music coming from piano in Tifa's room. He shivered for a while when he felt the cool air within his own room. He realized that it only began snowing that morning as he looked outside the window. "Today's my birthday," he realized with a slight smile on his face before he got up and got outside his room, heading for her room.

He slowly opened the door and peeked in. He smiled gently when he saw her wearing a black knitted sweater and a long black skirt as she was playing the piano while singing softly.

She only stopped when she heard the door creaked and she instantly turned her gaze to the door and smiled happily. "Rufus!" she got off from the piano seat and ran to him excitedly and gave him a tight hug. "Good morning and a happy birthday!" she greeted cheerfully.

He was somewhat stunned, but he forced a smile on his face. "Uh… thanks… you're up early?" he asked.

"Well… yeah… made some breakfast downstairs. C'mon, let's go while it's still hot!" she said before grabbing his hand and dragged him downstairs.

The moment they reached the dining area, his blue eyes widened in awe upon seeing a small birthday cake with a small white candle on top of it and beside it was a present.

He frowned slightly. "T…Tifa, you shouldn't have…" he began, feeling embarrassed.

She giggled and dragged him nearer to the table and forced him to sit down. "But I just did! Now, make a wish and blow out the candle," she said as she sat down on the other chair beside him.

Rufus stared at the flame and he had this cold look on his face upon remembering his father. "I wish that he would die now," he said aloud.

Tifa blinked. "What?" she asked.

Rufus shook his head. "Nah, that won't work… I might get unlucky the whole year if I wish for something bad, right?" he asked as he winked at her.

She smiled gently. "I knew that you're not like your father," she told him.

He smiled proudly at her before turning back to the flame and thought for a while. With that, he smiled gently with a silent thought in his mind, "I wish that I could always be with Tifa forever…" and then blew out the flame.

Tifa was silent but she was smiling at him as she asked, "What did you wish for?" she asked.

He shook his index finger carefully by his lips before saying, "That is a secret," and winked at her.

She made a face.

He laughed at her. "C'mon, you also didn't tell me what you wished for last May 3!" he said as he nudged her before he got the present and opened it, revealing a long shotgun. 

He fell silent upon seeing it. "You shouldn't have, Tifa… I mean… I already have one of these…" he stammered as he pulled it out and examined it.

"I thought you could use a new one since you also gave me new fighting gloves on my last birthday," she told him with a sweet smile on her face.

He turned to her and smiled gently. "Thanks a lot, Tifa." He told her.

She just looked back at him with a loving smile on her face.

"Is it loaded?" he asked, turning back to the shotgun. 

"No. But there are several bullets inside that box," she told him.

He was silent for a while before he put down the shotgun on the table and got up with a hard look on his face. "I'll be back in a few seconds. You wait for me here," he told her before rushing upstairs.

Tifa felt herself getting a little nervous upon his sudden reaction, but she just remained seated, clasping her hands together in her lap as she lowered her gaze to the floor. "What if he didn't like what I gave to him…" she thought nervously, but she snapped out of it when she heard him coming down again.

She watched him as he sat down again beside her and showed her red velvet box. "This is supposed to be for Christmas but I can't wait that long for me to give this to you… so," he opened it with a sly smile on his face, revealing a heart-shaped silver locket with _ShinRa_ engraved in its usual characters on the lower right corner of the top flap. She gasped in awe and covered her mouth with her right hand. "Oh my God…" she said as she slowly touched it. "I… I can't accept this… where… where did you get this? I…" she stammered.

"Old man gave me a credit card when I was only five. I still know the numbers so I just asked the store to charge it there." he told her with a proud look on his face before he got the locket and wore it around her neck.

She smiled shyly at him as she reached for his hand and squeezed it. "Thank you, Rufus," she said softly as her tears fell.

Rufus felt his heart sinking when he saw her tears and he instantly took her in his arms. "What's wrong? Why are you crying? Didn't you like it?" he asked.

She shook her head as she embraced him tightly. "No, of course, I liked it! Very much, Rufus. I can't thank you enough… I… I'm just thankful that you're here with me…" she admitted with a trembling voice as she smiled despite her tears.

It was true; she was very thankful that he was there with her. She could not really imagine what her life would be like if he hadn't come along when they were seven years old…

It scared her to think of the what-ifs… 

What if he was still in ShinRa? Would she still be in Nibelheim? Or in another place like the slums of Midgar?

Or there could be something more dangerous… something that could kill everyone including the Planet…

Or there could be another person whom she would fall in-love with…

"No, I don't want to… it's only Rufus now… he'll be with me forever… he promised me that…" she thought with a hard look on her face before looking at him with a sweet smile on her face. 

She was about to thank him again, but she just thought of it in her mind when he leaned forward to give her a kiss on her lips…

*** 

            Cloud finally arrived in Midgar, but when he was about to get down from the helicopter, Heidegger had stopped him. "Stay inside." He commanded.

Cloud had this confused look. "Why? What's going on inside?" he asked.

They were interrupted when they heard several gunshots coming from inside the building.

"Kyah! I think I should take Rufus some place safer," Scarlet told Heidegger.

"Gyah… do so, please," Heidegger responded before he stepped back and decided to just close the door of the chopper, but Cloud stopped him. "No! I want to know what's going on," he demanded with a fierce look on his face.

"AVALANCHE," Heidegger responded.

Cloud thought for a while, trying to remember what AVALANCHE is.

Heidegger spoke up again with a frantic tone, "Gyah! It's a terrorist group against ShinRa! Against all of us here!" he explained.

Cloud's frown deepened before he grabbed his enormous sword from under the seat, pushed Heidegger away and jumped off from the chopper.

"Rufus!" Scarlet yelled.

"Stop him!" Heidegger commanded from the Soldiers.

Cloud just ran inside, avoiding everyone. "Nobody messes with ShinRa just like this!" he thought angrily.

"Kyah! What is he thinking! He could get killed!" Scarlet screeched as she jumped down and rushed inside the building with Heidegger.

*** 

            Cloud stopped running when he heard a very loud explosion from somewhere outside the building. "There goes another Mako reactor," he thought before proceeding inside President ShinRa's office, only to find the said man dead on the floor, lying on a pool of his own blood.

Cloud's mouth dropped open as his grip tightened on the handle of his sword. "What the…" he turned to one corner of the room where he found a big fat man with a gun-arm frowning at him. Surrounding him were bodies of five dead Soldiers.

"Well… looks like some foo's been left behind!" the big man said with a rather nasty look before spitting at the dead President.

Cloud cringed a little. "How uncouth," he thought disgustingly before preparing himself for battle.

"Who are you?" the man demanded.

"Rufus ShinRa. Vice-President of this Company that you are trying to trash out," Cloud responded in a rather cool manner.

"Oh, so you're the heir of this fucked-up company, eh?" the man said mockingly.

"What is your name?" Cloud asked.

The guy started to target him, ready to fire. "It ain't important anymore, you darn foo'! I'm from AVALANCHE… and all of you should just die to end everything! You're sucking the life out of Planet!" he snapped.

"Don't you think that we could discuss this calmly?" Cloud asked, trying to make a deal.

"There's no time for that." He responded.

Cloud was about to attack but he was interrupted when he heard a girl's voice from behind him, shouting, "Barret! Are you there?"

Barret did not say anything, but the moment he caught him off-guard as he turned around to look at the girl, he just shot Cloud.

The girl's green eyes widened in shock upon recognizing the blonde guy in the white suit, but all she could do was gasp and run to him, catching him in her arms before he could land on the ground.

Barret was surprised upon seeing her do that. "Aerith?! What the… what the hell are you doin'?! Let go of him!" he commanded frantically as he ran to them.

Cloud let go of his sword as he clutched his bleeding left shoulder. 

Aerith was about to heal him, but Barret grabbed her hand and dragged her away from him, causing Cloud to just fall to the floor painfully with a loud "thud".

Cloud screamed in pain. 

"No!" Aerith called out as she tried to break free from Barret's strong grip on her right wrist. Her left hand tried to reach out for Cloud. "Why did you do that to Rufus?" she demanded from Barret as she started to cry.

"What's wrong with you? Did those nasty Turks hit your head or somethin' and now you wanna help that ShinRa brat? Let's go back to HQ!" Barret snapped impatiently as he hurried up a little, giving Aerith a hard time keeping up with his speed.

Cloud tried to sit up but the pain was too much for him to bear. He just fell back. "I can't die like this…" he thought miserably. 

To his relief, he heard some footsteps rushing to him.

"There he is!" he heard Heidegger say.

Cloud just closed his eyes, feeling his head aching.

"Sir Rufus!" he heard Reeve's voice call out his name.

"Kyah! He's injured…" Scarlet's voice.

"What happened to Sir Rufus?" Palmer's voice.

Cloud cringed as he tried to open his eyes again, but all he could see were blurred faces as he felt some hands lifting him up. "N…no… that's not my name… I am not Rufus… I'm… Cl…" 

He lost consciousness.


	9. 9

Switching Places

            By: General Quistis

            Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh.

---------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Nine

            Rufus was outside, shoveling by the front door. "Nasty snow…" he thought miserably. He could already smell the food that Tifa was cooking for their dinner and he suddenly felt hungry. "Gotta hurry up," he thought silently with a secret smile on his face.

He stopped for a while when he noticed some old folks passing by and talking about ShinRa.

"It's such a shame… the old President's dead this morning."

"Hmf… the ShinRa reign's not yet over, dearie. There's still his son, remember?" 

Rufus stared at them. "What?" he thought silently as he continued to listen while proceeding to shovel. 

"Right… Rufus ShinRa. Heard the boy's injured right now."

"Yeah."

Rufus stopped and placed the shovel by the door before he stepped inside. "Tifa," he called out as he closed the door.

"Yeah?" she called out from the kitchen.

Rufus ran to the kitchen with a slight smile on his face. "I just heard some news from the old folks passing by," he told her.

"What is it?" she asked as she removed the saucepan from the stove and placed it on the kitchen counter before facing him.

Rufus did not feel ashamed that he was really happy upon his father's death. "Old man's dead," he announced.

Tifa's eyes grew wide in shock. "Wh…what?" she asked in disbelief.

Rufus got her hands and squeezed them gently. "Old man's dead! Just this morning! I don't know how but… he's dead!" he said happily with an evil glint in his eyes.

Tifa really felt so unsure whether she should be cheering for him or not, but she just decided to smile reassuringly at him, "Well then, what now?" she asked.

Rufus let go of her. "It's time for us to go to Midgar. Tomorrow morning." He told her.

She blinked. "Tomorrow morning?" she asked.

"The sooner, the better," he said.

She shrugged. "I don't know, Rufus… where are we going to stay there?" she asked.

He stared at her unbelievably. "Tifa, look at me! Who do you see standing here before you and talking to you? I'm not just any ordinary citizen around here, you know?" he asked.

She scratched her head. "I…I know, you are Rufus ShinRa," she began.

"That's right, Tifa. And I'm not going to let us stay in just some plain old place, but we're staying in Sector 1 or Sector 2." He said reassuringly.

She nodded shyly. "O…okay… whatever you say," she said.

"What's wrong?" he asked, noticing her sudden change in behavior.

She sighed heavily. "Oh nothing… it's just that… I feel like I'm suddenly from another planet… and you're from this place filled with all the treasures you can wish for…" she stammered.

He understood what she meant but he just smiled reassuringly at her and gave her a hug. "Please don't be intimidated and overwhelmed by me… you're going to be just fine with me, okay?" he asked.

She nodded as she leaned her head on his chest.

He frowned slightly. "And I have to get Cloud out of there… who knows what those idiots have done to him to make him act like me, deceiving everyone…" he thought silently as his embrace tightened around Tifa.

Tifa wasn't sure about what he was thinking about because of his sudden silence, but she spoke up anyway, "Rufus, how would you present yourself to them?" she asked.

Rufus thought for a while. "I'll let them come to me," he told her.

*** 

            "Where is she?" Yuffie asked.

"She's in her room," Barret replied.

"Is she okay?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Can't really tell. She's been crying ever since we got out of that building," he replied miserably.

*** 

            Hojo stared at Cloud for a while before shrugging. "At least be thankful that he's safe now… we need him to be President." He told the others.

Reeve was silent, staring at the sleeping boy.

Scarlet sighed heavily. "Kyah… I feel sorry for him," she said.

Heidegger shook his head. "Gyah… don't be, Scarlet. He doesn't deserve it. He's just our puppet after all," he said with a cold look on his face as he stared at Cloud.

"Kyah! How could you say that! This was just an innocent little boy that we kidnapped and then turned him into President Rufus! He has a mind and we're forcing him to forget everything so that he could live Rufus's life!" she snapped.

Hojo began to inject something into Cloud's bloodstream once again.

"That's the fifth time you did that; don't you think it's enough?" Palmer asked him with a frown on his face.

"It's for his own good. The sixth one's for his death…" Hojo replied.

"What do you mean _for his death_?" Reeve demanded.

"This boy isn't the real Rufus ShinRa. I figured that Rufus wouldn't be returning unless his father's dead and rotting in the ground… now that his father's gone, he could be returning sooner or later, like a lost prince who wants to reclaim his throne. Once he does, we are going to kill this boy. We just can't throw him away and leave him to blab about everything that happened in his pathetic miserable life," Hojo said.

"Kyah!!! That's so mean!" Scarlet said as she snatched the syringe from Hojo and threw it on the floor. "Heidegger, Reeve and I took care of this boy and you just can't kill him like that! We trained him to be someone who is better than Rufus, you just can't kill him!" she snapped angrily as she pushed him away from the bed and slapped his face.

"Hehehehehe… is that, so, Scarlet?" Hojo asked.

"Gyahahahah! Scarlet's right. This boy is going to be the president and he is going to make ShinRa rise again!" Heidegger started.

Hojo adjusted his glasses as he glared mockingly at Scarlet and Heidegger. "We shall see…" he said before he left the room.

"Maybe we should already start with bringing him back to who he really is…" Reeve told Scarlet and Heidegger.

The two were silent as they watched the sleeping Cloud.

Then, they were interrupted when they heard someone knocking.

Scarlet rushed to the door and opened it, surprised to see Tseng with a bouquet of white and pink flowers. 

She narrowed her gaze on him. "Kyah… if you're planning to give me those nasty flowers, you'd better think twice! I like someone else, so get lost!" she snapped.

Tseng raised an eyebrow as he made a disgusted face. "Ugh! Who, Reeve?" he asked with a teasing tone before he stepped inside. "Besides, these aren't for you, Scarlet. This is for President Rufus," he said as he placed the flowers on top of the bedside table.

Scarlet raised an eyebrow as she went to Tseng. "Really, where did it come from?" she asked.

"Someone left it by the gate. Reno just saw it and brought it in." Tseng replied.

"You sure there's no bomb inside?" Reeve pointed out with an unsure look on his face.

"We even let Dark Nation sniff it. No bomb," Tseng replied with a silly smile on his face.

Heidegger examined the flowers and was stunned to see a note card. He got it and read it aloud, "I hope you are well, Rufus. I'm always praying for you, love, Aerith,"

"Aerith?" Scarlet echoed.

Tseng raised an eyebrow. "Aerith?!" he said in disbelief.

"Why, you know this girl?" Heidegger demanded.

Tseng shook his head frantically. "Uh… no. I don't." he lied.

Heidegger scanned the note card for a while and then turned to Cloud. He just jumped away from the bed when he saw the boy's eyes wide open, staring at him. "GYAH!" he said in surprise.

Cloud slowly sat up, clutching his injured shoulder. "What's going on? Where am I?" he asked.

Everyone was silent, staring at him in awe. 

Cloud frowned at them. "What's going on?' he asked.

"President ShinRa," Tseng began.

"What did you just call me?" Cloud asked in disbelief.

Scarlet approached him. "Sir Rufus, your… your father died… and now you're the President…" she stammered.

Cloud fell silent for a while and then nodded. "I know. I remember seeing him in his office… I think that big man killed him…" he stopped when he recalled about the girl. "There's… there's a girl with him…" he stated flatly.

"What girl?" Scarlet asked.

"Gyah… President ShinRa, these flowers just arrived today. They're for you… and here's some note card with it," Heidegger said, referring to the flowers and then handing he note card to him.

Cloud got the note card and read it slowly. When he came across the name, his eyes narrowed in confusion. "Aerith?" he asked.

"Kya~h! Do you know any _Aerith_, President ShinRa?' Scarlet asked.

Cloud frowned at her. "Stop calling me by my father's surname. I hate it! Just refer to me as _President Rufus_," he commanded before shaking his head in disagreement. "No, I don't know any Aerith," he said as he let go of the card and stared at the flowers for a very long time.

But from the back of his mind, he could see the image of the girl with braided brown hair… the one who tried to save him… the one who smiled at him when he first arrived in Midgar…

And as he continued to stare at the flowers, his lips slowly curved into a gentle smile, surprising everyone else in the room.

"P…President Rufus, is everything okay?" Palmer asked.

Cloud looked up at them and he had this determined look on his face. "I want you to find this girl," he commanded.


	10. 10

Switching Places

            By: General Quistis

            Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh.

---------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Ten

            Heidegger opened up the credit card bills and examined them one by one. It had been five days ever since Cloud had become President of the ShinRa Electric Power Company, and every other normal activities happening within its walls just continued on like nothing happened.

As he scanned the last one, he frowned slightly and said, "Gyah…" surprising Tseng.

"Anything wrong, sir?" Tseng asked.

Heidegger was silent for awhile and he was frowning as he sighed heavily before reading aloud what was written on the bill, "Silver locket with special engraving: 500,000 Gil. Sute at the Sector Two Grand; suite 2450: 300,000 Gil… 500,000 Gil worth of… LADIES' WEAR?!" he put down the bill with a ridiculous look on his face. "Why would Rufus even buy a locket and rent a suite?" he asked in disbelief.

Tseng thought for a while, but before he could answer, Reno laughed at what had been asked and said,  "Maybe it's for a girl!"

All eyes turned to him.

Heidegger shook his head. "I don't know, Reno… we still haven't found that Aerith, whoever the hell she is… she's not even from Sector 2 or 3…" he stated flatly before he got up. "Better ask Rufus about this," he said before leaving the room.

*** 

            Rufus looked outside the window, seeing the ShinRa tower and then frowning slightly at the sight of it. "They should've seen the credit card bills by now," he told Tifa.

She remained seated on the couch, looking at him with too much adoration in her crimson eyes, but she did not say anything.

He sighed and turned to her with a smile on his face. "Everything's going to be okay, Tifa," he told her.

They looked very different already ever since they arrived in Midgar. He started to wear white suits again and kept his hair neatly brushed and gelled back, just like when he was still a little boy.

In Tifa's case, he bought her a new set of wardrobe, new shoes and new jewelry.

"What if Cloud doesn't want to?" she asked as she stood up.

"He has to step down. I _am_ Rufus ShinRa…" Rufus said with a hard tone.

"Are you sure you're not going to have a hard time adjusting when you gain back control?" she asked with an unsure look as she approached him.

He shook his head. "I've been ready ever since I was a little boy. Besides, you're here with me, right?" he asked with a gentle smile on his face.

She smiled gently as she placed her arm around his waist and leaned her head on his chest. "But I'm just wondering… this current situation of the Planet," she began.

"President Rufus wouldn't just leave that situation. What my First Lady wants, she gets. You want the safety of the Planet; you'll get it…" he told her with a wink before hugging her. "…besides, I also want the safety of everyone here in the Planet… so once I get into office, all Mako reactors shall stop." He told her with a reassuring smile as he stroked her hair.

She nodded, pleased that Rufus isn't really like all the other ShinRas who did nothing but cause destruction. But she had this serious expression on her face when she felt herself getting nervous and uncomfortable all of a sudden. "How come it seems like I am going to lose him?" she thought silently.

Rufus was thinking of the same thing, but he held her tighter against him, frowning and his eyes narrowing as he stared at the floor. "No… I'm not going to lose… I own ShinRa. Tifa is coming with me… no one will prevent that…" he thought with too much determination.

*** 

            Cloud frowned with a ridiculous look on his face as he stared at Heidegger. "I do not even have a girlfriend! What made you think that I would be buying those ladies' wear and that locket? I didn't even make reservations!" he said impatiently before continuing to rummage through the papers on top of his office desk.

"But, President Rufus…" Heidegger began.

"Get out of here! I'm busy." Cloud snapped.

Heidegger was quiet for a while but he spoke up again with a hesitant tone, "President Rufus, I was just wondering about this… do you think I should send my Turks over to that hotel to check…"

Cloud stopped and looked up at Heidegger. "What are you getting at?" he asked.

"Somebody else knows your credit card number… and this credit card number of yours had been existing ever since you were a little boy…" Heidegger trailed off when a thought passed through his mind. "Rufus… it could be the real Rufus… right. It's Rufus… that's his first credit card… and Cloud has 10 more credit cards but this credit card is the oldest…" he thought silently.

"Maybe someone is pretending to be me," Cloud told him with a nasty glint in his eye.

Heidegger's eyes grew wide when he felt himself getting nervous all of a sudden, remembering from the start what they had done to Cloud, making him, _forcing_ him to pretend that he is Rufus ShinRa. "Uh… I don't think so," he lied.

With that, Cloud got up, suddenly feeling something in his head. "I've been getting constant headaches…" he realized as he touched his head and pounded gently on it before heading to the door. "I'll go and check the hotel myself." He told Heidegger.

"You want me to come with you?" Heidegger asked.

"No. Just the Turks… and Reeve." Cloud said.

"Reeve?" Heidegger asked.

"Why don't you just shut up and follow my commands?" Cloud demanded impatiently.

Heidegger saluted frantically, "Sir, yes, sir!" he said before running out of the office.

Cloud sighed heavily before turning to the window, seeing the snow falling. He somewhat felt light-hearted at the sight of it: pure and white…

And the next thing he knew, he was smiling already…

Because he thought of her…

*** 

            "You awake, Aerith?" 

Aerith did not move. She just remained seated by the dresser, looking at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was not braided yet; she has no intention to fix it at that moment. She just wants to stare at herself.

Her green eyes reflected too much sadness, as she remained silent, unable to respond to the question called out by Yuffie from outside her room.

"Aerith, I'm coming in!" 

"Leave me alone," she wanted to say out loud, but couldn't.

"Aerith, are you in there?" she heard another voice, this time; it was Barret's voice.

Her eyes narrowed at her reflection.

The door just opened without any warning so she just lowered her gaze to the floor, bowing her head and clasping her hands together on her lap.

"You haven't been eating for three days already. Do you feel well?" Yuffie asked.

"Why did you have to shoot him?" Aerith asked with a hard tone.

Barret stiffened but just turned away.

Two others were watching her from the doorway: Cid and Vincent.

Aerith got up and faced all of them with a fake smile on her face. "I'm going out for a while," she said before grabbing some gloves and her winter jacket. "Don't wait for me," she told them as she marched out of the room, pushing Cid and Vincent away from her path.

"What's wrong with her? I really missed a whole lotta @#$%*$# events, you know?" Cid told Barret.

"You were there when we attacked ShinRa days ago," Barret pointed out.

"But when you guys got down from the office of the President, she was already crying and you're dragging her away from something," Vincent pointed out.

"She's got a crush on the President," Barret said in disbelief as he shook his head in disgust.

All of them gasped.

"What the @#$%!?!? Aerith has a crush on that @#$^%& old geezer?!" Cid demanded in disbelief.

"No! That'd be @#$^%$* gross! I mean the new President!" Barret said.

Vincent frowned slightly. "Rufus ShinRa?" he asked.

"Yeah, that kid." Barret said.

"I don't know, but something's strange about Rufus," Vincent said.

"Like what?" Cid asked.

Vincent thought for a while before shaking his head in disapproval, "No. Must be my imagination…" he muttered before walking away.

*** 

            Tifa got up from the couch when she heard someone knocking on the door. "Who could this be?" she thought silently before opening the door. "Yes?" she asked. Her eyes grew wide in surprise upon seeing who it was. "Cloud?" she asked in disbelief.

The four people behind Cloud frowned slightly upon hearing the name. "Wh…what did she call him?" the redhead whispered to the tall bald man.

Cloud frowned at Tifa. "Tifa Lockheart, right?" he asked.

Tifa nodded slightly. "Yes." She said.

Reeve began to feel nervous upon hearing her call Cloud, "Cloud". 

"Tifa, who's there?" Rufus asked as he approached the door, but he stopped in his tracks upon seeing Reeve.

Reeve's eyes grew wide in awe. "It's you," he said in disbelief.

Rufus frowned at him and approached Tifa, pulling her away from the door. "Let me handle this, Tifa," he told her.

She nodded nervously before standing behind Rufus.

"Reeve, what is going on?" Tseng demanded in confusion.

"I demand an explanation for everything here, Reeve." Rufus commanded as he crossed his arms.

Cloud turned to face Tseng and the others. "You have been fooling me ever since I was seven, correct?" he asked.

Elena shook her head. "Pardon me, President Rufus, but I cannot understand what you're saying," she began uneasily.

"It's Cloud Strife. My name is Cloud Strife." Cloud corrected impatiently.

Rufus smiled slyly at all of them. "And I'm sure Reeve did not tell you that I am Rufus ShinRa?" he asked with pride in his voice.

Everyone was silent.

Rufus chuckled lightly. "Would you all like to come inside so that we could talk?" he asked.

*** 


	11. 11

Switching Places 

            **_By_**: General Quistis

            **_Disclaimer_**: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh. I don't own anything…but the story plot…

**_Author's_**_ **Note**_: I'm so sorry if there's this OOC tendency for this fic… I have to transform their personalities… like Cloud turning evil whatsoever… -.-' Please forgive meh… ;_;

---------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Eleven

            "I'm beginning to think that the boy is suspecting something…" Heidegger told Scarlet, Palmer and Hojo.

"Kyah… what made you say that?" Scarlet asked before taking a sip of coffee.

"Gyah… I saw him sign some papers… I could've sworn the first letter he wrote was _'C'_ instead of _'R'_, and he stopped suddenly and then changed the _'C'_ to '_R'_… and instead of taking me with him and the Turks, he took Reeve! Gyah… he could be suspicious of something already… Gyah…" he explained with a look of discomfort on his face.

"If Scarlet did not snatch the syringe, he would still be Rufus ShinRa and not Cloud Strife," Hojo pointed out with a mocking stare.

"Kyah! Shut the fuck up, you old geezer!" she snapped angrily.

"Maybe it's just about time we tell him the truth," Palmer suggested.

Everyone was silent.

Scarlet shook her head and stood up. "Kyah… I'll go check the new weapon that he told me to design…" she said miserably before leaving the cafeteria.

*** 

            Reeve and the Turks stared in awe at Rufus and Cloud. 

Cloud looked away from them and turned his gaze to the window. "I've been suspecting about my true identity ever since you took me to that big house in Nibelheim… I was sure my real age is a year older than what you're telling me… and I never really realized that those '_vitamins_' were for memory lapse until yesterday morning when I did not take them but instead, threw them outside." He explained with a bitter smile on his face.

Rufus shook his head in disbelief. "That Hojo… always up to something bad with that mediocre mind of his," he said with a frown on his face.

"So… you mean, we've been fooled all along?" Tseng asked, turning to Reeve.

Reeve shook his head. "We had to do this to save our necks. Rufus's father threatened us. Besides, Cloud turned out to be a perfect Rufus… well that is according to Hojo…" he stammered with a weak smile on his face.

"Hah! You call _that_ perfect? He is continuing the destruction of Planet! You geezers told him to continue where Old Man had left off, huh?" Rufus snapped angrily.

Cloud was quiet, not really knowing how to consider Rufus's last statement; whether it's an insult or not.

Reno, Elena and Rude were staring at Rufus and Cloud, seeing their similarities and then finally understanding everything that had happened in the past. "Well… almost closely-alike… except for the hairstyle and the height… Rufus is taller than Cloud…" Elena whispered to Reno.

"And the next thing I'll hear from you, you'll be comparing who's cuter… sissy girls…" Reno muttered glumly to her.

"Shut up, Reno," she snapped impatiently before turning away and upon seeing Tifa standing beside Rufus who was seated on the couch facing all of them, she smiled.

Tifa smiled cheerfully at Elena before motioning for her to follow her to the balcony.

Elena got up and went to Tifa. "Hello. Are you Rufus's girlfriend?" she asked.

Tifa blushed at the question. "He didn't really say anything…" she told her embarrassingly. 

Elena giggled. "Well, when we asked the receptionist downstairs, she said that Rufus is here with his fiancée." She said with a wink.

Tifa was stunned. "Oh yeah… I heard him tell her that when we checked in," she said, feeling her own face getting red.

Elena smiled cheerfully at her and shrugged. "Gee, this situation is really confusing… but I think we'll get used to it, don't you think so?" she asked.

Tifa sighed heavily. "Yes, I hope so…" she trailed off when she saw the mean look in Cloud's face upon hearing Reeve's question, "So, does this mean that we need to turn over the presidency to Rufus?"

Cloud was silent for a while before standing up in protest. "No. I shall remain in the office," he said with a nasty smile on his face before he motioned for the Turks to seize Rufus and Tifa.

"What the…" Tifa had managed to say, surprised at the sudden twist of events.

Tseng, Rude and Reno, though confused, obeyed their "master". They got hold of Rufus, immediately putting handcuffs on his wrists. 

Reeve was stunned as he stood up, looking at Cloud in disbelief. "Cloud, I…" he stammered.

"It's RUFUS! I'm still the President of ShinRa no matter what happens, do you hear?" Cloud snapped angrily.

"You're crazy!" Rufus snapped angrily at him.

Cloud just sneered at him before turning to Elena. He raised his eyebrows at her. "What the hell are you doing, Elena? Get her!" he snapped before sneering at Tifa.

"Tifa, run away!" Rufus commanded.

Tifa shook her head at first, but Elena had given her a discreet nudge which urged her to just obey Rufus. She pushed Cloud and Reeve away from her path, punching Cloud's lower abdomen as she did so.

"Ow… shit!" Cloud cursed angrily.

"Run away!" Rufus shouted at Tifa.

Tifa took one last look at Rufus before she got out of the room.

"What the hell are you doing?! Go after her!" Cloud told Elena and Reeve.

The two took a moment before they let the command register in their minds. With that, they ran off.

Rufus tried to break free from the grasps of the three male Turks. "Let go of me! Don't you know who I am?!" he demanded angrily.

Cloud smiled haughtily at Rufus. "It's such a shame… your fault that this happened! If it weren't for you running away, I wouldn't be in this state…and you wouldn't be in this state!" he said mockingly.

Rufus spitted at Cloud's face.

Cloud wiped the spit off his own cheek and then punched Rufus's cheek with his clenched fist. "Next time you'll know better than to spit at my face, you imbecile!" he snapped angrily.

"At least I did not turn out to be like the ex-President!" Rufus shot back with a mean look on his face, meaning to mock and insult Cloud.

Cloud just stared at him in too much rage before turning away. "Take him to Junon," he said.

"What?!" Rufus demanded in surprise.

"You'll be interrogated and imprisoned there until further notice… but maybe I'll put you in death row if I please…" Cloud explained with a nasty smile on his face.

"President… uhm…" Reno stammered. "…pardon me, what shall I call you?" he asked Cloud.

"Rufus. I'm still Rufus. That guy's a fraud. I was just acting out a while ago, you know?" Cloud asked before heading for the door. "Let's go. Reeve probably got that bitch right now," he told them.

Rufus twitched upon hearing the adjective used to refer to Tifa, but he did not say anything. He just hoped that she got away… "Tifa, I didn't wish for this to happen…" he thought miserably as Rude forced him to walk out of the door.

*** 

            Aerith just kept on walking around until she could feel her own feet getting numb because of the cold. She sighed and saw her breath. She smiled gently before proceeding. "Better get back home…" she thought silently before turning back with a sad look on her face. It was already 11 pm, and she knew that the others could be sleeping already, but she didn't care. 

As she continued to walk, she stopped in her tracks when she saw a dark-haired girl whose hair and clothes were already dusted with lots of snowflakes. She was panting and leaning against the electric post, clenching her fists in an effort to stop herself from shivering because of the cold. Her crimson eyes reflected too much anger; their past happiness fading away. Aerith could tell that she had also been crying because of their puffiness, and upon noticing that the girl was wearing fine clothes but no winter gear, she felt a little bothered. "She's not from here…" she thought silently as she approached the girl. "Excuse me, are you okay?" she asked.

The girl turned to Aerith, her eyes narrowing in too much tiredness. "I… I…" and she just fainted.

Aerith caught her in her arms, trying to support her weight. "Oh no…" she muttered. She looked around, searching for anyone in sight. 

There was no one.

"I can't just leave her here… she'll freeze to death…" Aerith realized before she decided to just go home with the girl…


	12. 12

Switching Places 

            **_By_**: General Quistis

            **_Disclaimer_**: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh. I don't own anything…but the story plot…

**_Author's_**_ **Note**_: I'm so sorry if there's this OOC tendency for this fic… I have to transform their personalities… like Cloud turning evil whatsoever… -.-' Please forgive meh… ;_; Oh, and by the way… if you're looking for traces of Sephiroth here… I'm so sorry… I don't know how to insert him in the story because eventually, I just thought of another alternative idea for this… Edea, if you're reading this, gomen nasai! ;_; I know how much you love Sephiroth so much… but I found myself not really knowing how to insert him here… and I am not really used to him… ;_; gyah… To the reviewers, whether good or bad, thank you very much. Luv ya'll! J

---------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Twelve

            "We're so sorry, President Rufus, she fought us and… we lost… she's very good with martial arts…" Reeve explained, though the truth is, they let Tifa escape.

Cloud just stared up at him with a mean look on his face as he remained seated, tapping his pen impatiently on the table. "Honestly, Reeve," he said.

"Honestly, sir. You can even ask Elena," Reeve replied.

Cloud turned to Elena. She had this stiff look on her face as she nodded her head. "It's true, sir. She escaped." She lied.

With that, Cloud motioned for them to just leave the room. As everyone began to move out, he spoke up, "Except for you, Heidegger and Scarlet,"

The two stopped and exchanged nervous glances before proceeding to face Cloud again with slight smiles on their faces. "Yes, sir?" Heidegger asked.

"Kyah… it's late, I think you should go to bed now, President Rufus," Scarlet said.

Cloud got up. "No, I'm not yet sleepy. But anyway, have you found her yet?" he asked.

"Tifa?" she asked.

"No. Aerith. The one I've told you to search for." Cloud corrected.

Scarlet and Heidegger were silent for a few seconds before the latter responded, "Gyahahahahahahahaha! I see… well, no, not yet, President Rufus,"

"Kyah… we've searched everywhere but we couldn't find her…" she said.

"Have you checked on the files of the girls with the first name _Aerith_?" Cloud asked, scanning their faces.

"Yes, we have… but there are no girls in the database with that name. It's such a very unique name, sir…" she explained.

"Maybe because the database isn't complete… or she isn't from this place at all," Cloud pointed out.

"We've checked with Reeve but he didn't find anyone with that name from Sectors 1-4." Heidegger explained.

"What about the slums?" Cloud asked with an annoyed look on his face.

"The files from the Slums aren't that complete, sir. The population there, most especially in Sector 7, increases by 20% each month." Heidegger explained.

"20%?! Hmf… those lowlifes got nothing else to do but reproduce and reproduce! I doubt if they can even support their own children with their low income." Cloud muttered in disbelief.

"He discriminates them like he doesn't really come from there before… but anyhow, it's our fault that he's acting like that…" Heidegger thought silently to himself as he stared at Cloud with a blank look on his face.

Scarlet sighed heavily. "We'll just search manually if you want us to," she said.

"Do so. Now leave," Cloud commanded.

Heidegger and Scarlet did not even excuse themselves; they just rushed out of the room. The moment they got out of the office, they were surprised to see Reeve, Hojo and the Turks waiting for them outside.

"Kyah!" Scarlet let out a surprised scream.

Heidegger just jerked and then held his upper left chest. "Gyah! Are you planning to give me a heart-attack?!" he demanded from them.

"We have something to tell you… something regarding Rufus and that boy," Tseng said directly without any hesitations.

Heidegger and Scarlet stared for a while before the former spoke up, "Gyah… let's go downstairs. He might hear us." he said as he led the way to the elevator.

"This wouldn't have happened if you just let me finish the injection, Scarlet. Now he's turned into a monster," Hojo told Scarlet as they got inside the elevator.

"Kyah! Shut the hell up, you mediocre scientist!" she snapped impatiently, attempting to slap his face, but Reeve stopped her. "Let's just stop blaming one another because it won't do us any good!" he scolded.

Everyone fell silent as he let go of her hand and sighed heavily. "We all did something to contribute to this," he began.

"Hmf… and the least we could do is make him step out of the office and release the real President from Junon," Reno said.

"And we can do so by killing the spiky-headed boy," Hojo suggested with an evil look on his face.

"No, we won't kill him. He's too powerful now. He's watching us closely because we know that he knows about his true identity." Reeve said.

"But that's the only way we could get rid of that boy!" Hojo snapped.

"Kyah! We should be the ones who should die because if it weren't for us getting so afraid of death, this wouldn't have happened!" Scarlet said as she pounded on the elevator wall.

"Well… at least look on the bright side… if this didn't happen at all, if Rufus was the president… something more complicated could happen to all of us!" Elena said with an optimistic glint in her eyes.

Everyone fell silent. 

"Elena's right… maybe we could just make the most out of Cloud. After all, the important thing is, this company is running smoothly and is very successful." Tseng told them.

Silence again.

"You call this successful? The Planet will die because of us!" Reeve told them.

"But we'll be causing a big scandal if we just switch the two without any warning!" Tseng said.

Silence.

Reeve just sighed heavily. "I don't know about you guys, but we'd better do something about Cloud right now. Not all secrets could be kept forever." He said before the elevator stopped on the second floor and he got off with a frown on his face.

The rest followed with confused looks on their faces.

*** 

            "You roamed around the Slums all day and then you brought home a girl from the streets? Are you nuts?" Barret scolded with a worried look on his face.

"Shut up, just turn on the heater. Her body temperature should return to normal after a few minutes… and once you shut up!" Aerith snapped impatiently as she placed the blankets and the comforter on the girl's body up to her neck.

"What the hell happened to her anyway?" Yuffie asked as she stared at the girl.

"Maybe she's lost or something. She was roaming around without any winter gear so she just got cold and… I don't know. She just passed out," Aerith replied with a worried look on her face as she stared at the sleeping girl. "But I could tell from her clothes and her jewelry that she must've come from the elites." She said.

"Maybe she's a tourist. Haven't really seen her around." Vincent pointed out.

"Could be…" she said before stopping as the girl moved her right hand to her forehead, touching it for a while, and then her hand plopped down on the bed again.

They noticed that she was wearing a silver bangle bracelet with something engraved on it. 

Vincent looked closely, trying to read the writings, "All my love for you, from Rufus ShinRa."

They froze.

Aerith's mouth dropped open, looking at the girl with her big green eyes. "She's…" she couldn't go on.

Barret shook his head in disbelief. "Shit… she's Rufus ShinRa's girlfriend…" he muttered.

Aerith could feel her heart sinking. "I… I can't believe it… all these years I've waited and… and then… he has a girlfriend?" she thought in disbelief before running out of the room.

"What's wrong with her?" Cid asked.

Nobody answered, everyone was busily thinking on what to do with the sleeping girl.

"What the hell are we going to do with this girl?" Barret asked them.

"I have absolutely no fucking idea." Cid replied as he crossed his arms.

"Maybe we should just return her." Vincent suggested.

"No! We won't do that." Barret snapped.

Yuffie sighed as she approached the girl held her cold hand, placing it under the blanket again, "Look… there's got to be a reason why Aerith found her here in the slums. It's like she's running away from something." She said.

"What's she gonna be runnin' away for? The damn girl's rich! She has everything money could buy, including a very fucked-up boyfriend!" Cid snapped impatiently.

"Money can't buy happiness," Vincent pointed out.

They all fell silent, but they were surprised when they heard the girl speak out as she moved her head from side to side, like she was having a nightmare or something, "No… let him go! Don't take him away… please, Cloud! No! Don't take Rufus to Junon… please…" she pleaded.

Their eyes grew wide in awe. "What?" 

"What's she talking about?" Barret asked.

The girl opened her eyes and they were wide in fear. She immediately sat up in a frantic manner, her crimson eyes scanning all of them like they were monsters. She moved away from them, clutching the blanket up to her chin. "Wh…" she began.

"Please don't be afraid! We won't hurt you," Yuffie reassured with a kind smile on her face as she reached out for the girl, patting her shoulders.

The girl looked up at her and then to Barret, Vincent and Cid.

"You passed out in the streets, Aerith had to bring you home so that you wouldn't die in the cold." Vincent explained gently.

"What were you doing out there anyway? And without any winter gear?" Barret asked.

The girl blinked, then looked down, her hands relaxing and letting go of the blanket. "I… I was running away… Rufus told me to run away because… they're taking him to Junon…" she explained with a trembling voice.

"Rufus? You mean…" 

The girl could see the confusion in their eyes, and suddenly, everything returned to her in a flash. She stiffened as she frowned angrily but her crimson eyes reflected too much hurt. "The real Rufus ShinRa is in Junon, imprisoned by an impostor who had taken his place for more than ten years. His name is Cloud Strife. He's a very heartless and cold man… he doesn't want to give up the presidency for Rufus…" she explained.

Everyone was stunned, not knowing how to react to what she had said.

The girl shook her head. "Please understand me! I'm telling the truth! I've been with Rufus ever since we were kids… he stayed with my family in Nibelheim because he ran away from home… his father killed his mother that's why he didn't want to go back… the executives had been ordered to find him, and if they didn't return without him, they'll get killed, so they had to find an alternative. They found Cloud Strife, an ordinary boy… and turned him into Rufus ShinRa with the help of Hojo… and now…" she trailed off as she began to cry.

Yuffie reached out for her and held her hands. "Oh, don't cry…" she said gently with a cheery smile on her face.

Tifa wiped her tears away. "M…my name is Tifa Lockheart…" she began again.

"I'm Yuffie Kisaragi." Yuffie introduced.

"Vincent Valentine," Vincent said.

"Cid Highwind."

"Barret Wallace. The girl who took you here's Aerith Gainsborough but she ran off to I don't know where… she's been depressed latedly," he stopped when Vincent nudged him. "I don't think you should be telling her that." He whispered.

Barret just shrugged and approached Tifa with a serious look on his face. "Anyway, we're all members of AVALANCHE… and I hope we don't scare you but we're anti-ShinRa and its activities." He said.

Tifa thought for a while but she remained calm as she looked up at him with a slight smile on her face. "I hope that the ShinRa that you're against with isn't Rufus… but that Cloud." She told him.

Barret thought for a while. "Well, now that you've said it… and I think you're really telling the truth, maybe the ShinRa that we're against with is… is that Cloud that you're talking about." He said.

"Wait, wait, wait! How the hell can we all be sure that this @#$%*^% girl is tellin' the truth?" Cid demanded.

"You could check Cloud's DNA if you want to. It's different." Tifa said with a stern look on her face.

"Believe her, I think she's really telling the truth." Vincent said, turning to his companions. "And I think we should inform Aerith about this," he told them.


	13. 13

Switching Places 

            **_By_**: General Quistis

            **_Disclaimer_**: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh. I don't own anything…but the story plot…

**_Author's_**_ **Note**_: I'm so sorry if there's this OOC tendency for this fic… I have to transform their personalities… like Cloud turning evil whatsoever… -.-' Please forgive meh… ;_; 

---------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Thirteen

            "Are you sure about this? What if he starts looking for us?" Reno asked while looking at his watch with a sleepy look on his face. "It's 5 am and we still haven't got some sleep!" he complained.

"Stop complaining, we need to catch the first boat to Junon. It'll be leaving at around 5:30." Reeve snapped impatiently.

"You still did not answer my question; what if he starts looking for us?" Reno asked as he and Elena continued to follow Reeve.

"Reno's right, Mister Reeve… what if Boss Tseng starts looking for us… or even President… President Rufus?" Elena asked with a nervous look on her face.

"They won't be looking for you or me. And don't call him _Rufus_ because he is not! Now, we're going to Junon because we are getting the real Rufus out of there while there's still time," Reeve explained as they headed for the docks.

Reno and Elena just exchanged uncomfortable glances with one another as they followed behind Reeve with quick paces.

*** 

            "Great… just great! 7 am in Sector 6… looking for that girl…" Scarlet muttered glumly as she continued to walk with Tseng and Rude. "And don't they even shovel their walks? Kyah?!" she complained as she realized that the reason why she was already tired and annoyed was because she was having a hard time walking in the snow with high heels. 

"If you just wore boots, you'd be okay," Tseng told her.

"Kyah… I didn't know that the snow here is this bad!" she snapped.

"…" Rude reacted with a dull look.

"Kyah… Rufus said that he first saw her with a basket of flowers… maybe she sells them or something… kyah… and she has long braided mahogany hair. He isn't really sure about the color of her eyes… but he guessed from his memory that they're green. Kyah…" she said, wanting to change the subject as she adjusted her fur coat.

"I really don't know if I'm gonna call him Rufus or Cloud… Can I just refer to him as _President?_" Tseng asked with a confused look on his face.

"Can't we just call him _Cloud_ whenever we're outside the building? It's really beginning to confuse me," Rude admitted.

"Kyah… you've got a point there, Rude…" Scarlet stopped when she saw some ladies selling some poinsettias beside the Church. 

Tseng and Rude followed her gaze; the former said, "Maybe we could ask them?".

"Go," Scarlet commanded.

Tseng proceeded, putting his gloved hands inside the pockets of his trench coat before smiling kindly at the ladies. "Excuse me, madams… I would just like to inquire something," he said.

"Kyah… he's still too formal," Scarlet muttered.

The ladies looked up at him. "Yes?" one of them asked.

Tseng examined their faces. He didn't like any of them. "I trust that boy's taste would be good but… oh well, I just hope that Aerith isn't one of them…" he thought silently before saying, "Do you know a girl named Aerith? She's got long braided mahogany hair… and I think her eyes are green?"

The ladies stared up at him for a few seconds in silence before one of the replied with a sorry tone, "We haven't heard from her for the past couple of days, but yes, we know someone named Aerith Gainsborough. She used to take care of the flowers inside this Church."

Tseng blinked. "Do you know where she lives?" he asked.

"She used to live here in this Sector but she transferred to Sector 7 with some friends of hers…" one of the replied.

"Do you know where in Sector 7? I really need to talk to her," Tseng told them with a determined look on his face.

"You can just ask the people there."

With that, Tseng ran back to Scarlet and Rude with a pleased smile on his face, but because of the deep snow, he tripped and fell face-first.

"Kyahahahahahahahaha! Next time, you'll know better than to run in that kind of snow!" Scarlet said mockingly.

Rude helped his boss stand up with a ridiculous look on his face.

Tseng got up and brushed off the snow from his coat and his hair, but he still had that smile on his face.

Scarlet raised her eyebrow. "You look happy," she pointed out.

"She's in Sector 7." He said.

Scarlet placed her hands on her hips and smiled slyly at him. "Kyaha… there seems to be something in your eye… like a glint of someone who's got a crush on someone!" she said, probing him.

Tseng raised an eyebrow but he looked away, pretending not to know anything. 

"Kyahahahaha! The spiky-headed boy's going to kill you once he finds out that you also like the girl," she said before turning away with an impish smile on her face.

Tseng's eyes grew wide in shock as he marched to her. "Excuse me?" he demanded.

She faced him again. "You can't hide it from me, Tseng. You like that girl, huh?" she asked.

Tseng just smiled proudly at her. "Don't worry, it won't get in the way of our dear President," he reassured before walking ahead of her and Rude.

*** 

            "How did you end up in such a place like this anyway?" Yuffie asked Tifa as she handed her a cup of hot tea.

"I was running away from the Turks…" Tifa answered simply with a disappointed look on her face before taking a sip. "I was wondering… where is Aerith?" she asked with a gentle smile on her face. 

"Why are you looking for her?" Yuffie asked.

"To thank her for bringing me here. If it weren't for her, I'd be dead and I wouldn't be able to do anything about Rufus with the help of you guys from AVALANCHE." Tifa explained.

It took a few moments before Yuffie was able to think of an answer, but before she could say it out loud, the door opened and there was Aerith, standing there with her big green eyes staring down at Tifa. 

"Oh, here she is now," Yuffie said.

Tifa wondered why Aerith was staring at her like that; it intimidated her but she did not look away.

Aerith smiled gently at her. "You must be Tifa Lockheart." She said.

Tifa blinked for a while before nodding uneasily. "Y…yes." She replied.

Aerith nodded as she approached the bed and sat down beside Tifa. "Vincent told me." She continued.

Tifa did not really know what to say so she just said, "…yes… I know Vincent…"

"You're Rufus ShinRa's girlfriend?" she asked.

"I'm his fiancée," Tifa explained with a slight blush on her face.

Aerith nodded slightly. "Is he really in Junon right now, and that the person in ShinRa is an impostor?" she asked with a hopeful look on her face.

Tifa smiled gently as she placed the cup of tea on the bedside table before holding Aerith's hand, finally understanding everything about Aerith. "The Rufus ShinRa that's in your eyes is Cloud Strife." She said gently.

Yuffie smiled in silence at the two, hoping that the issue would be settled already. With that, she stood up. "I think I'd better go downstairs for awhile," she said before leaving the room. As she closed the door behind her, her smile widened in joy when she heard the two girls laughing gaily. "Oh well… at least Aerith's happy now…" she whispered before heading down the stairs. The moment she got down, she saw Vincent, Cid and Barret leaving the house. "Hey, where are you guys going? Aren't you gonna take me?" she wailed.

"You can come with us if you want to. Is Aerith upstairs?" Barret asked.

Red XIII was about to follow them too, but Barret stopped him, "Hey, hey, hey! Hold it… you stay here to guard the girls… and don't you dare let anyone in here, okay?" he commanded.

Red XIII snorted before turning away, heading for the kitchen. "Fine… guard the girls…" he thought miserably as he plopped down on the floor. "Oh well… at least I won't be walking on that snow…" he muttered with a slight smile on his face.

Five minutes later, just when he was about to fall asleep, he heard someone knocking on the front door. He rushed to window to take a look outside, and when he saw three familiar people standing outside the door, he instantly sprinted to the second floor. "Aerith! Aerith!" he called out as he pounded his front paws on the door to her room.

Aerith instantly opened the door with a curious look on her face. "What's wrong, Red?" she asked.

Red XIII saw Tifa and he frowned, "They could be looking for her," he thought silently before saying out loud, "The Turks are outside… with Scarlet…"

Aerith's eyes grew wide in surprise. "What?" she demanded.

Tifa got out of the bed and joined them. "No… they couldn't possibly tracked us down here?" she asked.

Aerith bit her lower lip before rushing down the stairs. "I'll take care of this. You guys stay here. If I can't handle them, I'll scream." She said.

*** 

            "Are you sure this is the right place?" Scarlet asked.

Before Tseng could answer, the door opened. The three of them turned to the girl with long braided mahogany hair and green eyes. She was wearing a pink dress and a reddish jacket. She looked gentle and it gave them the impression that she could just be someone whom they could easily lure back to ShinRa… however, upon staring hard at her, Scarlet realized that she was an AVALANCHE member.

"Yes? May I help you?" the girl asked, pretending not to know them.

"A…are you Aerith Gainsborough?" Tseng asked, eyeing her carefully.

Aerith nodded. "Y…yes…" she replied nervously.

"Kyah… you're invited to come with us. President Rufus is expecting you," Scarlet explained with a fake smile on her face. "Icks… how could he choose someone from the slums?!" she thought silently as she eyed the girl.

Aerith's eyes grew wide in surprise. "M…me?" she asked. "No… he's not Rufus… remember that…" she thought silently as she stared at Tseng and Scarlet. "But why?" she asked.

"Kyah… just come with us and we'll explain everything to you when we get there," Scarlet snapped before grabbing her wrist and dragging her outside the house.

Aerith did not react; she just stared blankly at them as she let them drag her with a fast pace, not caring if she was cold, leading her out of Sector 7. "If it's Cloud… I'm going to be okay… I know…" she thought with a secret smile on her face.


	14. 14

Switching Places 

            **_By_**: General Quistis

            **_Disclaimer_**: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh. I don't own anything…but the story plot…

**_Author's_**_ **Note**_: I'm so sorry if there's this OOC tendency for this fic… I have to transform their personalities… like Cloud turning evil whatsoever… -.-' Please forgive meh… ;_; 

---------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Fourteen

            Rufus opened his eyes when he heard someone trying to pick the lock of the door of his prison cell. He instantly got up from the prison bed and rushed to the door, listening closely to the conversation from outside.

"Hurry the hell up with that, Elena! If that guard wakes up…" 

"Shut up, Reno! I'm trying my best! Are you sure the alarm won't go off?"

"Reeve's taking care of it upstairs. Just hurry up, okay? I didn't use any Sleep on that Soldier, I just knocked him out by punching his face."

Rufus frowned slightly, feeling confused as he took a few steps backward. "What the hell are they doing here?" he thought in confusion. He stiffened when the door suddenly burst open, revealing to him a startled Reno and a joyful Elena holding a hairpin. 

"Yes!" she cheered with a whispery tone.

Reno smiled weakly at Rufus and waved lightly, "Eh… hi, Prez. How ya doin'?" he asked.

Elena entered and got Rufus's hand. "Let's get out of here, sir." She said with a wink as she dragged him to the hallway outside.

"W…wait a minute… how'd you…" Rufus stammered, but he snapped out of his confused state and frowned, withdrawing his hand from her. "I demand a valid explanation about this, Elena," he told her sternly.

"Please, sir… you can punish us once you return to your office, but first, we have to get you out of here as quickly as we could!" she said with a weak smile on her face as she led the way to the exit.

Rufus did not follow at first; he was just looking at the nameplate by the door of his old prison cell. "Cloud Strife," he read it aloud. He twitched. "What the fuck?!" he thought angrily before proceeding to follow Elena.

Reno saw the nameplate and made a disgusted face before following Elena and Rufus.

"I'm pretty sure there are guards by the main exit and all the secret passages." Rufus told them before stopping.

Reno and Elena stopped and turned to him. "How did you know?" she asked.

"Cloud followed Old Man's strategies… he doesn't know how to improvise things so he's using the dead man's methods for everything in maintaining the security, the money… EVERYTHING in ShinRa. Besides, I've been observing that ever since I learned how to talk," he told them with a wink before turning to Reno, "You said that you've knocked out a Soldier?" he asked.

"Y…yeah." Reno replied.

"Does he have a gun?" Rufus asked.

"Yeah. He's holding one before I punched him… but I don't know where he dropped it when he fell to the floor." Reno replied.

"It's easy to get inside here but it's hard to get out… we need to kill everyone in our way… though it'd definitely make the situation more difficult for us… so what do you think?" Rufus asked.

Elena thought for a while. "I know what to do!" she said happily before reaching for something in her trouser pocket. She brought out a small bottle of hair gel. "I don't leave home without this!" she said happily.

Rufus raised his eyebrows at her. "What are you going to do with that?" he asked.

Elena just smiled happily at him. "Don't worry, this will wash off with water once we get back to Midgar," she said.

"Wait, we're taking him to Midgar?" Reno asked.

"Yeah, that's what Reeve said, remember? Oh yeah, you don't know that coz you fell asleep on the boat!" she said.

"As in ShinRa HQ in Midgar?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. We'll hide him until we kick out Cloud from his office… also that Hojo. I think he's really crazy, imagine, he enjoys using Cloud as a puppet…" she said.

Rufus frowned as he flipped his hair. "Wait a second… if you're not taking me to ShinRa HQ, where are you going to make me stay?" he asked.

"Sorry to say, President Rufus, but we're going to take you to a place that would definitely ward off all the snotty executives of ShinRa… except maybe for Mister Reeve since he's nice." Elena said before opening the bottle of gel…

*** 

            "Of all the things I'll leave behind, why the @#$%*^% wallet?" Cid cursed angrily as he made his way back to the house. He had this deep frown on his face, but upon seeing the door wide open, his face had this startled expression on it as he ran to it. "What the @#$%?!?!?" he cried out in shock as he stepped inside the house. He instantly ran up the stairs. "Aerith?!" he called out as he reached the second floor, but he stopped upon seeing Tifa and Red XIII standing by the door of Aerith's room. "Tifa? Red? Where's Aerith?" he asked.

Tifa raised an eyebrow. "We're waiting for her… she went downstairs to answer the door…" she trailed off, feeling so nervous all of a sudden.

"WHAT?!?!?" Cid demanded before rushing down the stairs again.

Tifa and Red XIII followed and they were shocked to see that Aerith wasn't there anymore and the door was still wide open. "I @#$%^*^% came back here and I saw the @#$%^*%$ door wide open! Where the @#$% is Aerith?!" Cid said in panic.

Red XIII clenched his teeth, growling. "The Turks must've gotten her!" he said.

"What?" Cid asked, turning to him.

"But she didn't scream! She said that if something goes wrong, she'll scream!" Tifa said in panic.

"They must've done something to her…" Red XIII said before rushing outside, sniffing the ground. 

"Can you find them?" Cid asked.

Tifa got out of the house, standing in the middle of the street and she looked up, seeing the tall ShinRa Tower from where she is. Her eyes were wide as she stared at it for a long time. She frowned and clenched her fists. "They've taken her to Cloud…" she said softly, surprising Cid and Red XIII.

Red XIII stopped sniffing and turned to them. "She's right… the scent leads to ShinRa HQ." He said.


	15. 15

Switching Places 

            **_By_**: General Quistis

            **_Disclaimer_**: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh. I don't own anything…but the story plot…

**_Author's_**_ **Note**_: I'm so sorry if there's this OOC tendency for this fic… I have to transform their personalities… like Cloud turning evil whatsoever… -.-' Please forgive meh… ;_; 

---------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Fifteen

            "I still don't understand why you people are telling me to dress up for dinner," Cloud told them as Scarlet helped him with his necktie.

"Kyahahahaha! Because we have a very beautiful surprise for you!" she said with a wink as she started to knot his tie.

He frowned at them, then turned to Dark Nation, motioning for the black panther-like animal to come near him, but the animal just growled angrily at him before rushing out of the room. 

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "I ought to have that cat spayed…" he muttered glumly.

Scarlet laughed nervously. "Kyahahahahahahaha! President Rufus, forget about Dark Nation tonight, will you?" she asked.

Cloud was just silent. As soon as she was through with his necktie, he proceeded to get his white blazer. 

She was hesitant for a while but she finally spoke up, "Kyah… what did you see in that Aerith anyway?" she asked.

"I don't know… it just hit me." He wanted to say out loud, but he couldn't. He felt embarrassed. "Mind your own business." He snapped as he put on his blazer and buttoned it. "What's for dinner?" he asked.

"Stuffed crab, asparagus soup, buttered vegetables… some red wine… kyah… and some strawberries and cream for dessert." She explained.

With that, they headed out of the room and proceeded to the dining hall.

The moment Cloud got inside the dining hall, his eyes grew wide in awe upon seeing a girl wearing a long pink gown. She had her back to him and he could see her long braided hair very clearly. She was gazing up at the night sky from the window.

"Kyah… her name is Aerith Gainsborough, sir." Scarlet introduced with a wink before stepping out of the room.

Upon realizing that someone was watching her, Aerith turned around; her green eyes widening in awe upon seeing Cloud, but she smiled happily as she approached him. 

He watched her, like he was in a trance, as she walked gracefully and naturally to him. As soon as she was already near him, she bowed down gracefully at him with a gentle smile on her face, "Pleasant evening, President Rufus," she said.

*** 

            Rufus's hands were already beginning to go numb as he continued to walk around Sector 7 with Reno, Elena and Reeve. "Do you have money with you, President Rufus?" Reno asked.

"A little… plus some credit cards." He told them.

"We will not use your credit cards. But we'll be using your money plus ours if needed so that you can stay in a decent inn." Elena said with a cheerful smile on her face.

"It's colder in this place than in the other sectors," Rufus thought miserably as he looked up at the night sky.

As they passed by some people, they kept on looking at them, especially on Rufus. He just ignored them, feeling a little annoyed. "We've been roaming around this Sector ever since we got here this afternoon and we still haven't found a nice decent little inn." He told them.

"Because we really don't know where to find it," Elena said sheepishly.

"Reeve, you're in-charge for Urban Development; I believe you should know the ins and outs of this place." Rufus pointed out with an impatient smile on his face.

"Eh… I'm sorry, sir, but your father despised the slums so he didn't really give a damn about its ins and outs." Reeve replied with a sheepish look on his face.

Rufus grunted as he rubbed his hands together before turning to Elena. "Nice work on my hair, Elena, I think those people are already thinking that I'm Cloud." He said, referring to his hairdo.

Elena, Reno and Reeve stifled their smiles as they turned to Rufus, examining his hair. 

"However, they're going to be identifying _Rufus_ with this spiky hair… which is a big no-no!" Rufus continued. Then, they were about to round a corner when they sensed something running after them from behind. The four instantly turned around, their eyes widening at the sight of a big black panther-like animal rushing to Rufus.

Rufus's mouth dropped open. "Dark Nation!" he recognized easily.

The big animal pounced on him, causing him to fall down to the snowy ground. 

Reeve, Elena and Reno took a few steps backward, not knowing what to do; for all they know, the big animal could be attacking its real master.

But it didn't. 

Dark Nation started to purr and she nuzzled her head against Rufus's face and neck. "Meowrrr!" she said happily.

Rufus laughed gaily as he embraced his pet.

It surprised Reeve, Elena and Reno to hear him laughing like that. "Cloud never laughed like that…" Reeve told the two in a whispery tone.

Elena smiled. "Maybe if you guys were able to find him when he ran away as a child, he wouldn't be like this… he'd probably be like Cloud… cold and uncaring…" she said gently.

Reno raised his eyebrows and smiled slyly. "He must've been really happy with Tifa in all those years." He said.

Reeve sighed heavily as he watched Rufus sit up, petting Dark Nation's fur. "Funny how the simplicity of life could turn a person into someone perfect… and how riches could turn one into someone very greedy and cold…" he said with a low tone, comparing Rufus and Cloud in his mind.

"Maybe it's better this way," Elena said with a gentle smile on her face as she stared at Rufus and Dark Nation.

With that, Rufus stood up, chuckling lightly as he patted Dark Nation's head. "Good girl," he said gently.

"Meowrrrr!" she responded happily.

"How did she get out of ShinRa?" Reno asked.

"Maybe she got fed up with Cloud. Does he even care about her?" Rufus asked with a frown on his face.

"Not as much as you care for her, sir," Reeve explained. Which was true.

Sure, Cloud lets Dark Nation sleep in his room and sometimes go with him anywhere, but he never really understood the true value of having her around with him.

But Dark Nation was looking up at Rufus, her head tilting to her left as she said, "Mew?" as if meaning to ask, "What's with the hairdo? Are you sure you're Rufus?"

Rufus touched his hair again. "It's me, okay?" he asked, as if really understanding Dark Nation. With that, he turned to Reeve, Reno and Elena. "Let's go?" he asked.

The three nodded and with that, they continued to walk around Sector 7.

"Don't you think we should be having dinner first?" Rufus asked.

Reeve looked at his watch and saw that it was already 8:30 in the evening. He frowned slightly, suddenly feeling hungry. "Okay, where are we going to eat?" he asked.

"Dark Nation, you wouldn't mind sniffing around for a place where we can eat, huh?" Rufus asked, turning to his pet.

Dark Nation rubbed her head against Rufus's right leg before proceeding to smell the surroundings. However, while Dark Nation did her job, Rufus had other thoughts in his mind, "At this hour, Tifa and I would be finished with dinner and we'd go up to her room and I'd play the piano and she'd be singing… sometimes, I join her and we do duets and…" he looked down to the ground, suddenly feeling his heart sinking as he clenched his fists, realizing the fact that that was just seemingly like another dream without her...and he was now in the reality of life "…that was in Nibelheim," he muttered with a low voice, making Reeve and Elena look at him. "Anything wrong, President Rufus?" she asked.

Rufus forced a smile at them. "Nothing," he told them, but at the back of his mind, he was really thinking, "Tifa, where are you?"


	16. 16

Switching Places 

            **_By_**: General Quistis

            **_Disclaimer_**: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh. I don't own anything…but the story plot…

**_Author's_**_ **Note**_: I'm so sorry if there's this OOC tendency for this fic… I have to transform their personalities… like Cloud turning evil whatsoever… -.-' Please forgive meh… ;_; 

---------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Sixteen

            Tifa stared at Vincent, Cid, Barret, Yuffie and Red XIII who were just staring into empty space. "Am I causing trouble here?" she asked frankly.

All eyes turned to her. "No, you're not, Teef," Barret told her reassuringly.

"Well then, cheer up! It's not like Aerith could take staying there…" Tifa trailed off when Vincent turned to her with a serious look on his face. "She didn't even scream. I have a feeling she agreed for the Turks to take her to ShinRa." He told her.

Tifa remembered that Aerith liked Cloud, but she didn't really have the intention to tell them that. "But… but if I don't tell them, they'll worry too much… and…" she thought silently as she shook her head in disbelief. "I won't tell them…" she told herself silently as she stared at the floor with a deep frown on her face.

"What do they want with her anyway?" Barret asked as he stood up.

"You wanna go there and save her?" Cid asked with a tired look on his face.

"Maybe if Aerith doesn't let Cloud get into her, she could convince him to change his mind about everything… after all, she's a nice girl… I hope she doesn't change sides that easily…" Tifa was still thinking quietly as she continued to stare at the floor for more minutes. She was interrupted when Barret called her attention. "Teef?"

She jerked slightly and looked up at him with wide eyes. "Yeah?" she asked.

They all stared at her curiously. "You okay?" Yuffie asked.

She forced a cheerful smile on her face as she nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine," she said, then upon noticing that they were all standing up by the door, she frowned slightly, "Where are you going?" she asked.

"ShinRa. We'll be making rounds there," Barret told her.

She got up and went to them. "Can't I go with you?" she asked with a pleading tone.

"It'd be dangerous, please understand. They're also after you, remember? Besides, I'm sure Rufus wouldn't want anything bad happening to his fiancée, right?" Vincent asked with a slight smile on his face as he patted her shoulder gently.

She just nodded her head before moving away from them. "Okay, I'll just stay here," she said softly before sitting down on the sofa again. 

Red XIII scanned her. "You want me to stay behind?" he asked.

She turned to him, then to Barret. 

Barret shrugged. "Do so, Red." He said before finally stepping out of the house.

After they shut the door, Red XIII began to sniff the air.

Tifa stared at him for awhile, trying to see what he was going to do next, but he just continued to sniff the air. "Anything wrong, Red XIII?" she asked.

He stopped and turned to her. "I think you'd better go upstairs for a while and hide in Aerith's room," he told her.

"Why?" she asked.

"I can sense the Turks…" he said before sniffing again, "Reno and Elena," he announced.

Tifa blinked twice, feeling numb all of a sudden. "I don't think Elena should be feared but…" she thought twice and just shrugged before heading upstairs, leaving Red XIII downstairs standing on guard by the front door.

*** 

            "Quite a nice view from here, huh?" Cloud asked, interrupting Aerith's thoughts as he joined her by the window.

She smiled gently as she leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed heavily. "I like it here," she told him honestly.

He smiled at what she said and put his arm around her. "From now on, you'll be staying here," he said with a determined tone.

Her eyes widened in awe and she could feel her heart beating faster, not because of happiness, but because of sudden confusion and guilt.

He noticed her sudden silence and it made him a little nervous, but he gathered up enough guts to ask, "Anything wrong, Aerith?"

She bit her lower lip as she shook her head. "N…nothing, Rufus," she replied softly.

She shivered when she mentioned his name, thinking silently, "That's not even your real name… I want to call you _'Cloud'_ but I'm scared…" she looked up at the stars outside and eyed them carefully, wondering how she could get out of that mess.

*** 

            Tifa remained inside Aerith's room, thinking what else could happen. She knew that her life was in danger if Aerith told Cloud about everything about her current condition and where she is at that moment. "I hope she doesn't blab… she doesn't seem like the kind of person to spill all sorts of secrets to a significant other… but then again, I shouldn't be judging people by their appearance…" she thought miserably as she looked outside the window, observing the people passing by. She sighed heavily as she recalled her life in Nibelheim and thought about the time when she and Rufus first met. "If he hadn't come along… I wonder how my life would be right now… but then again, I'm thankful for him… maybe I'd be more miserable if he didn't run away from home and if dad didn't find him… maybe I'd be stuck loving some stupid guy who won't even love me back…" she turned her gaze to a group of people with a black panther-like animal walking by. Her eyes grew wide when she recognized who they were. "What… what the…" she moved away from the window. "Cloud…Reno, Elena and Reeve…" she thought in panic before taking a peek again, frowning as she stared at Cloud. "He seems taller…" she thought silently before feeling some rage deep inside of her. "That asshole… because of him, Rufus is in Junon!" she muttered angrily before moving away from the window and headed downstairs, her hands clenched tightly into fists. "I don't care if he has some back-up with him… I'm going to have to attack him myself…" she thought angrily as she stomped her way to the front door, surprising Red XIII. 

"Tifa, where are you going?" Red XIII asked.

"To kill Cloud," she said before opening the door, surprising Reeve and the others.

"M…Miss Lockheart!" Reeve exclaimed.

Tifa didn't say anything more, she just approached the spiky-headed blonde, not waiting for him to say something despite the surprised expression on his face; she just started to make a move to punch his face, but he moved away from her, saying, "No! Tifa, wait!"

"Shut the hell up, you bastard! Because of you, Rufus is in Junon!" Tifa snapped angrily, attacking him, this time, she was able to hit his left shoulder because he tried to move away again.

He gasped in pain, suddenly not knowing what to do. "I can't harm her if she wouldn't believe me?!" he thought in panic.

Reno instantly grabbed Tifa and held her back away from Rufus. "Hey, hey, hey! Stop it! That's not Cloud, that's Rufus!" he told her reassuringly with a nervous smile on his face.

Tifa squirmed against him and did a back kick, hitting his nuts. Reno had to let go of Tifa because of the unbearable pain. He just fell to the ground, crouching there and moaning in agony. "Ow… man, President Rufus! That's one helluva girlfriend you got there! She must be good in bed with you, huh?" he teased with a wink, though he really knew that it was a bad situation to mention such a remark.

Rufus turned red. "Shut up, you…" he said as he clutched his shoulder. "Tifa, it's me! Rufus! Honest!" he said.

Tifa stared at him for a while, looking at him with an unsure expression on her face. "But… but…" she stammered. She wanted to say, "What's with the hair?!" but she was so confused to do so.

"Miss Lockheart, it's President Rufus… we just got him out of Junon but… but we had to style his hair that way so that he wouldn't get caught!" Elena explained in panic as she approached Tifa frantically, trying to keep her from harming Rufus further.

Red XIII approached Rufus and began to sniff him. Rufus looked down at him with a ridiculous look on his face. Red XIII turned to Tifa. "It's Rufus," he declared.

Rufus smiled weakly at Tifa, hoping she'd finally believe them, but before he could say something more, she just ran to him and touched his face gently with a look of awe on her face and in her eyes. "Rufus?" she asked.

He let got of his aching shoulder and just took her in his arms. "It's me, okay?" he asked with a gentle tone.

Tifa's hands traveled up to his hair and touched it as she trembled slightly. 

Rufus moved away from her. "I had to let Elena fix it this way so that I could escape from Junon." He explained with a sheepish look on his face. "Don't worry, I'll make sure it washes out with water." He said with a wink.

Tifa sighed in relief and remembered that she had punched him. She felt herself suddenly feeling so embarrassed and all she could do was just chuckle lightly and embrace him again, her hand on his aching shoulder. She leaned her head against his chest and sighed heavily as she shed a few tears because of guilt and shame. "I'm so sorry… I wanted to kill that Cloud so much that I ended up hurting you as well…" she said softly.

Reeve smiled at them before turning to Red XIII. "Is Tifa staying with AVALANCHE?" he asked him upon recognizing who he is.

"Yes. But don't you worry about it. I could say that AVALANCHE is pro-ShinRa and anti-Strife." Red XIII replied before heading back to the house. "Why don't you guys come inside for a while? Vincent and the others will be back in a while." He said with an inviting gesture with his front paw and his tail.


	17. 17

Switching Places 

            **_By_**: General Quistis

            **_Disclaimer_**: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh. I don't own anything…but the story plot…

**_Author's_**_ **Note**_: I'm so sorry if there's this OOC tendency for this fic… I have to transform their personalities… like Cloud turning evil whatsoever… -.-' Please forgive meh… ;_; 

**And by the way, if you want to see some fanart or drawings regarding this fic and all my other fics, just go to my site: …thank you very much. Oh, and please don't forget to read & review this one. =)**

---------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Seventeen

            Aerith had awoken to the sound of someone knocking on the door. She tried to move, but realized that she couldn't because of a pair of arms embracing her naked body. She blushed a little but she just remained still until the sleeping figure beside her decided to open his own eyes.

"Kyah… President Rufus! President Rufus!" Scarlet called out from outside the door.

Cloud smiled at Aerith and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Good morning, Aerith. How was your sleep last night?" he asked.

She smiled gently at him. "It was alright, Cl…Rufus…" she said, her heart skipping when she realized that she almost slipped.

It was a good thing that Cloud didn't catch her little booboo because of the loud knocking from the door. "Stupid Scarlet…" he muttered glumly before he sat up, grabbing his robe and wearing it before getting off the bed and walked grumpily to the door with a nasty look on his face. He opened the door slightly, not wishing Scarlet to see that Aerith had slept with him last night. "What do you want, Scarlet?" Cloud demanded.

"Kyah…we just received some news from Junon… you were there the other day?" Scarlet asked.

Cloud frowned. "What the bloody hell are you talking about? Of course, I wasn't there! I was here the whole day!" he reasoned.

"Kyah… and your prisoner just escaped!" she continued.

Cloud froze. "WHAT?!" he demanded angrily.

"Well then, it turns out that he had to disguise himself as you… so that he could escape… and I'm afraid Reeve, Elena and Reno were with him when he did so!" she explained.

Cloud clenched his fists but did not say anything more except for a soft mutter, "Search for those three including Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockheart! I want their heads by tomorrow afternoon!" and he shut the door.

Aerith could feel her heart beating fast as she remained on the bed, her eyes wide in sudden panic. She crouched, wrapping the blanket around her body as she shuddered.

"I can't believe those idiots from Junon were fooled by that Cloud Strife!" Cloud said aloud before going back to the bed and laid down beside Aerith again.

"Rufus?" Aerith asked.

"Yeah?" Cloud responded.

Aerith hesitated for a while but she spoke up with a trembling tone, "Y…your real name is Cloud, right?"

Cloud froze, not really knowing how to answer.

Aerith turned to face him with a gentle look on her face. "I don't care if you are not really Rufus ShinRa… I love you as you are, Cloud…and I promise to stay by your side forever…I'll never leave you," she told him gently as she moved closer and embraced him.

Cloud thought for a while, feeling a little overwhelmed by what Aerith had told him. He just smiled slightly as he returned her embrace. "I'll never leave you too, Aerith…" he told her gently as he closed his eyes, not wanting to let go of that wonderful feeling that she had made him feel.

*** 

            "I don't think that you guys should return in ShinRa right now," Vincent pointed out to Reeve, Reno and Elena.

Reeve stared at him for a while, "Why?" he asked.

"It's in the newspapers," Barret handed him the newspaper with the headline, "_Prisoner escapes Junon with the help of ShinRa executive and 2 turks_".

Reeve raised an eyebrow as he read the whole story. "Great! Our names our here…" he muttered glumly.

"Oh man!" Reno plopped down on the couch beside Cid Highwind.

"That @#$%^%$# Cloud Strife's really a pain in the ass!" Cid snapped as he crossed his arms.

"You said it, man…" Reno muttered glumly as he made a face.

"You think they'll find us here?" Reeve asked, turning to Barret.

"We're not sure… they want to kill you guys… plus AVALANCHE, actually… so we're like a group of flies killed in one blow once they find us here. But we can't hide forever… we need to fight back those foo's if we wanna live!" Barret said with a determined look on his face.

"But… but… how are we going to convince everyone that Cloud Strife is the one in ShinRa and that the real Rufus ShinRa is here with us? Cloud's turned into some kind of power-hungry dork… like Rufus's father…" Elena said with a look of disgust on her face.

"And he got Aerith too…" Yuffie said with a sad look on her face.

They stopped discussing when they heard some heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. 

All eyes turned to Rufus ShinRa who just arrived from the second floor. "Good morning, President Rufus," Reeve greeted with a smile on his face.

Rufus nodded his head in greeting. "So, what's all those stuff that I overheard from you guys about that spiky-headed dork?" he asked with a frown on his face as he snatched the newspaper from Reeve's grasp.

"Eh… it's all in the news, Rufus," Barret explained.

Rufus began to read, and after he read the whole article, he had this really angry look on his face. "Damn that…" he stopped himself from cussing further and just handed the paper to Reeve. "Somebody's gotta stop that impostor…" he muttered impatiently.

"We are going to stop him, Rufus," Barret reassured.

"We have less than 42 hours to do so…" Reeve said.

"But what about Aerith? She's with Cloud… we can't harm her," Red XIII asked.

"And what are we going to do with Cloud?" Reno added.

Rufus thought for a while. "The stubborn ass should die," he wanted to say out loud, but he just kept quiet and shrugged. "We'll know when we get there. Nobody messes with the real Rufus ShinRa…" he thought silently.

*** 

            "Kyah… we're all in this big trouble now… how are we supposed to get out of this mess!?" Scarlet wailed as she continued to walk down the hallway to the elevator with Tseng and Heidegger.

"We should've just let Hojo kill that Cloud… and then let Rufus claim his rightful position." Heidegger muttered glumly.

Tseng was flipping through the papers on the clipboard that he was holding. "I've already sent Rude to Sector 7…" he said.

"Gyah… and I've sent all the Soldiers all over the place… man, this is like Martial Law or something! Cloud's really worse than we've expected him to be!" Heidegger reasoned before they boarded the elevator going to the 70th floor.

"And we're supposed to kill Rufus?!" Scarlet exclaimed in panic.

"Gyah… as much as I'd hate to admit it in front of Cloud because he'll just slice my head off, I don't want to be the one to interrogate Rufus, Tifa, Reeve, Reno and Elena… plus AVALANCHE." Heidegger said miserably before they finally reached the 70th floor.

"As if you have a choice…" Tseng said.

"I have choices… either lose my head too or interrogate them." Heidegger replied as they stepped out of the elevator and headed for the President's Office.

The moment they got inside, they froze when they saw Aerith Gainsborough standing by the window, looking outside. Cloud was nowhere to be found.

Aerith turned to them with a weak smile on her face. "Good afternoon," she greeted with a soft tone.

Tseng, Heidegger and Scarlet all exchanged confused glances with one another before turning back to Aerith with weak smiles. Tseng stood up straight, "Good afternoon, Miss Gainsborough… may I ask you where President Rufus is?" he asked.

Aerith stared at him for a few seconds before replying, "He went downstairs to check on Professor Hojo…"

Silence.

Aerith looked down with a hesitant look on her face.

Heidegger, Scarlet and Tseng, upon noticing her sudden uneasiness, exchanged confused glances with one another again, as if urging each other to speak up. Scarlet was the one with enough guts to say to Aerith, "We…we want to tell you something, Miss Gainsborough…"

Aerith looked up at her with sad eyes. "Is it about… about Rufus?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, yes… but please, don't think of it as something that will ruin your relationship with him because as you must've known, we only want the best for President Rufus…" Tseng began with a hesitant tone.

"He's Cloud. I know it," she told him.

The three executives were silent.

Aerith smiled gently. "I just talked to him about it and…" her smile faded away. She suddenly felt nervous.

"And what?" Scarlet urged with a worried look on her face.

Aerith looked at them with a nervous expression in her green eyes, "It's fine with him… but what he told me just before he went downstairs… is that… he'll be getting rid of all of you…" she stammered.

"GYAH! What do you mean?!" Heidegger demanded.

"Please, please… calm down… I'm also trying to think of something to stop him. I've met Tifa already and I've also heard about the real Rufus… but Cloud's out of control… I just need help to calm him down or… maybe reverse the effects of what Hojo had injected into his bloodstream… I don't want any lives lost here so please… help me do something for Cloud…" Aerith pleaded, running to them and holding Heidegger's hands and squeezing them gently.

Heidegger, Scarlet and Tseng all stared at Aerith unbelievably. "She must be an angel to help us with this situation…" Scarlet thought silently as she smiled gently. "Kyah… we will help you, Miss Gainsborough," she declared.

Tseng nodded and flipped the papers on the clipboard. "I'll tell Rude to come back here," he said before leaving the room.


	18. 18

Switching Places 

            **_By_**: General Quistis

            **_Disclaimer_**: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh. I don't own anything…but the story plot…

**_Author's_**_ **Note**_: I'm so sorry if there's this OOC tendency for this fic… I have to transform their personalities… like Cloud turning evil whatsoever… -.-' Please forgive meh… ;_; 

And by the way, if you want to see some fic-art or drawings regarding this fic and all my other fics, just go to my site: …thank you very much. Oh, and please don't forget to read & review this one. =)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Eighteen

            Hojo turned around when he heard someone step inside his lab. He was holding a large syringe with some black liquid inside. "Oh, pleasant afternoon, President Cloud," he greeted.

Cloud frowned slightly, grasping the handle of his sword tightly when he heard that. "Excuse me?" he asked.

Hojo laughed at him mockingly. "You must be enjoying the wonderful life that ShinRa had given to you… being a ShinRa is a privilege… you get everything you want because you are very powerful and you have all the money in the world… but unfortunately, you are really a big burden to all of us. Because I had to take care of brainwashing you, I wasn't able to further develop the JENOVA project… and continue my experiments with Sephiroth. Because of you, I am just some mediocre scientist following orders from you and at the same time, brainwashing you, making you believe that you are Rufus ShinRa… but I've opened my eyes to the truth, Cloud Strife. We want our real President back and we are going to get rid of you." He pulled out a gun from his lab coat pocket and pointed it at Cloud. "And maybe then I can experiment with your body after your death," he said with a mean glint in his eyes.

Cloud did not move; he just stared at Hojo for a few seconds before he finally decided to attack the old man with fire and quickly snatching the gun from his hands. "You imbecile!" Cloud snarled angrily before swinging his sword to Hojo's head, however, as it cut through the old man's head, he was able to inject two-thirds of the contents of the syringe into Cloud's bloodstream.

Cloud cringed in pain as he watched Hojo's head roll to the ground. He turned to his left thigh and removed the syringe and the needle from it. "You are really made out of crap…" he muttered glumly before throwing the syringe at Hojo's body. He got the gun and shot him several times, wanting to really make sure that he killed him. With that, he dropped the gun and staggered upstairs, holding his left thigh while feeling a little dazed because of the formula taking effect on him. "What the hell did he inject in my body?" he thought miserably. "At least he didn't finish it…" he muttered aloud before finally reaching the 70th floor. Upon entering his office, he saw Aerith standing by the window, staring in awe at him. "C…Cloud, are you okay?" she asked with a worried look as she ran to him.

Cloud fell to the floor, making Aerith feel more nervous all of a sudden. "Cloud!" she exclaimed as she ran to him, trying to help him up. She guided him to the nearest chair and made him sit down before removing his hand from his left thigh. "What happened to you?" she asked.

"That… that Hojo injected something…into… into my bloodstream… ugh…" his hand traveled to his upper chest. He was already having a hard time breathing. "Aerith… help me…" he pleaded as he leaned forward to her embrace.

She swallowed hard, feeling the tears filling up her eyes and clouding her vision. His words kept on ringing in her head, "Aerith… help me…"

She sniffed and frowned slightly as she began to heal him. "I'm sorry, Tifa… Rufus… Barret… Vincent… Yuffie… Marlene… Red XIII… Cid…Tseng… Heidegger… Scarlet… everyone… I have to do this for Cloud… because I love him… I'm not stupid… I just don't want to lose him in this manner… but I swear, I am going to do something… anything to change his mind…" she thought silently as she finally let the tears fall.

*** 

            "Kyah… Professor Hojo?" Scarlet called out as she entered his lab.

No answer.

She stopped in her tracks, looking up at the ceiling and then scanning the whole lab. "Hojo, are you busy? We need to talk to you!" she yelled impatiently.

No answer.

"Kyah… maybe that old man's hiding somewhere… well then, he wants to play hide and seek, eh? Kyah…" she proceeded to walk in between some lab tables and chairs, rounding one corner, eyeing the whole place carefully. "Where the hell is…" she trailed off when she noticed that she stepped on something white on the floor… white and red… She slowly lowered her eyes to the ground and with wide eyes, she let out a shrill "KYAH!" and stepped aside, hugging herself. She stared at the headless body of the dead professor as she tried to breath properly. "Chill out, Scarlet… this isn't the first time you saw a dead body like this! Kyah…" she scolder herself silently. She jerked when she heard her mobile phone ringing. She looked away with a disgusted and nervous look on her face as she got her phone and answered the call from Heidegger. "Gyah… where's Professer Hojo? We need some medicines here. Cloud's injured and I think Aerith is having a hard time,"

Scarlet was silent as she heard Aerith from the background, saying, "No, I think I'll be fine here…"

Silence.

"Scarlet, are you there?" Heidegger asked.

Scarlet turned back to the corpse with a disgusted look on her face. She swallowed hard, trying to fight back nausea. "I…I'm here… but… I don't think Professor Hojo can still talk to us…" she stammered. She was quietly thinking, "Cloud killed him… and he's gonna kill Heidegger… and then me… and then all of us involved in ruining his life will die… including President Rufus…"

"Why, what's going on in there?" Heidegger demanded.

Scarlet didn't answer. She didn't know what to do anymore. She was really regretting at that moment the night that they found the innocent little blonde boy who resembled Rufus ShinRa so much and so they took him back home and brainwashed him to become Rufus himself… 

"Hello?! Scarlet?! Gyah….. can you hear me?! What's going on?" she snapped out of her thoughts when she heard his demanding tone again.

She bit her lower lip as tears fell from her eyes. "I can't take this anymore…" she muttered miserably before hanging up and rushed out of the laboratory without even taking one last look at the corpse.

*** 

            Heidegger frowned as he returned his mobile phone inside his pocket. "Damn that woman! She hung up!" he said angrily.

Cloud was about to say something to her but he was interrupted when Heidegger left the bedroom. He frowned slightly before focusing his gaze on Aerith's face. "Aerith," he began.

She looked at him with too much concern in her eyes. "Yes, Cloud?" she asked.

"I want you to do something for me…" he told her with a nasty glint in his eye.

Aerith began to feel nervous as she let go of Cloud's hand. She knew that she hasn't finish healing him yet, but she knew that he was a strong man and he can manage on his own. "Y…yes… what is it?" she asked nervously, forcing a smile.

He smiled impishly at her as he reached up to touch her face from where he was lying down on the bed. "You understand how much I hated staying here, right?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes… I knew that," she replied.

"Do me a favor," he told her.

"Wh…what kind of favor?" she asked.

He noticed the sudden fear and uneasiness in her eyes. He felt his heart sinking as he stared at her, feeling her pain… but he did not look away. "I want you to help search for Rufus… and once you find him…" he trailed off when Heidegger entered the room again with a gun in his hand.

Cloud and Aerith's eyes grew wide. "What's with the gun?!" Aerith demanded in awe as she moved closer to Cloud, as if meaning to protect him.

Heidegger smiled at them. "Gyah… Scarlet's missing." He announced.

"What's with the goddamn gun?!" Cloud demanded as he sat up, frowning at Heidegger.

Heidegger hid the gun in his pocket. "Gyah… sorry 'bout that…" he apologized sheepishly.

"You had us worried there, Heidegger…" Aerith muttered.

"Hmf… especially Cloud… he must've thought I'd kill him already," he thought silently.

"What do you mean by Scarlet is missing?" Cloud asked.

"I was looking for her but she isn't here in the building anymore… she even hung up on me… I went down to the lab but… there's Professor Hojo… and he's dead! Gyah! Maybe that bitch killed him and she ran away!" Heidegger explained.

Cloud was silent for a while before looking at Aerith. Aerith noticed the sudden coldness in Cloud's eyes as she stared at him. 

"Well then… I think Hojo deserved to die," Cloud told them with a mean tone.

Heidegger stared at him in awe. "Wh…why?" he asked.

"Because he. ruined. my. life." Cloud replied with a low tone, emphasizing each word before grabbing his big sword which was leaning against the bedside table. He shoved Aerith onto the bed and got up instantly, attacking Heidegger.

Upon surprise, Heidegger wasn't able to react immediately and time ran short for him to grab his gun and defend himself. Cloud had sliced him into two.

Aerith's eyes were wide in fear and shock as she gasped. She was about to scream but he turned to her with a pleading look on his face. "Don't scream… please," he told her with a gentle tone.

She was trembling as tears fell from her eyes… but she was speechless.

Cloud sighed heavily before dropping his sword to the floor. "He was the mastermind on why I'm here… he suggested the idea to Scarlet and Reeve… I just knew it…" he explained as he walked to her.

Aerith was trying hard to control herself from hysteria because of what she had seen. 

"I'm sorry I had to kill him in front of you… but everyone standing in my way should die. Do you understand, Aerith?" he asked as he sat down on the bed beside her. She wanted to move away from him but she couldn't move. 

He just smiled at her gently as he took her in his arms to embrace her, wanting to comfort her as she continued to cry quietly.

Aerith just held onto him, grasping his hands tightly as she leaned her head against his shoulder, her gaze still fixed upon the corpse.

The next thing she knew, Cloud was already kissing her. She just gave in, hoping that her fear would ease up in his arms as he started to make love to her...

*** 

            Scarlet took a deep breath, hoping that she would calm down already. She looked up at Reeve and Rufus with a tired look on her face. 

"So you came all the way here from ShinRa?" Rufus asked.

"Kyah… yes, President Rufus… I had to leave… I can't take it there anymore… that boy is crazy! He killed Professor Hojo!" she wailed.

"Serves Hojo right…" Vincent was thinking silently with a slight smile on his face but he hid his smile by turning away from everyone.

"He killed Hojo?" Barret asked.

"That deranged asshole?" Cid added.

"Kyah…" Scarlet nodded as she leaned back on the couch. "It's such a scary sight… Cloud beheaded him… and shot him too, I guess… it's just… gross… blood all over the place… gyah…" she told them.

Tifa shook her head in disbelief before turning to Rufus. "I don't think we should be going to ShinRa now…" she suggested with a worried look on her face.

"Kyah… she's right… not in this kind of situation wherein that Cloud Strife is after your heads… and I think I'm also included in his list!" Scarlet said.

"Why? What did you do this time?" Reeve asked as he crossed his arms.

"Kyah! I think he's off to kill everyone who was involved in… in…" she turned to Rufus and upon noticing the angry look on his face, she became more nervous. "Kyah! You know why!" she said before covering her face in shame.

Rufus rolled his eyes before turning away with an annoyed look on his face, not wishing to really yell at her because it would only make him feel so bothered and stressed out and waste his voice on her, but because his string of patience just snapped, he just turned back to her and clenched his fists. "You imbecile! You are such an idiot to agree with Heidegger in the first place…" and then turned to Reeve and pointed an accusing finger at him. "And you too! You and Scarlet have brains! Why didn't you use them?" he scolded.

"Honestly, I'd rather hear him scolding us than hear Cloud yapping at us…" Scarlet whispered to Yuffie.

Yuffie blinked as she raised an eyebrow. "You're weird…" she muttered.

Rufus turned back to Scarlet. She jerked and looked up at him. "But sir… we didn't have a choice! We're afraid to lose our lives… because your father… he threatened us… that if we wouldn't be able to return you to him by midnight, he'd kill us! We had to save ourselves. It was all Heidegger's idea… and Reeve and I just couldn't do anything about it… and we took Cloud to Hojo so that he could brainwash him and…" she couldn't go on.

Reeve swallowed hard.

Tifa and the others could feel the tension inside the living room.

Barret just nodded. "I'll leave you guys for a while…" he said before stepping out.

"I'm comin' with ya," Cid said, running after him.

Yuffie followed after them.

Vincent remained standing by one corner of the room.

"Meowrrr…" Dark Nation purred as she rubbed her head against Red XIII's face.

"Yeugh…" Red XIII reacted as he twitched.

Rufus narrowed his eyes on Scarlet, then Reeve. "You both have choices. You always have choices." He pointed out.

Silence.

"You don't get it, do you?" he asked them.

Scarlet just looked at Reeve with confused looks on their faces. Reeve just looked away, shaking his head in disbelief.

Rufus just looked away. "Never mind…" he muttered miserably before sitting down on the chair by the doorway.

Tifa bit her lower lip before turning to Scarlet and Reeve. "I'm sure you were confused at that moment when you were not able to object to Heidegger's idea… I understand that," she said gently.

Reeve smiled weakly at her. "Thank you, Miss Lockheart," he told her.

Scarlet stared at her unbelievably. "Kyah… thank you…?" she asked with a curious look on her face.

Tifa smiled sweetly but quite shyly at Scarlet. "Tifa. Tifa Lockheart." She replied.

Scarlet blinked, remembering the man who died with the same surname near the reactor some years ago. She turned to Reeve with a look of awe in her face. "Reeve… do you remember the… the man…" she stammered.

Reeve frowned slightly, remembering the man who died.

"Is there anything wrong?" Tifa asked with a curious look on her face.

"Kyah… where is your father, Miss Lockheart?" Scarlet asked.

Rufus turned to them with a frowning face.

Tifa turned to Rufus for a while, feeling very nervous all of a sudden. She turned back to Scarlet. "I…I don't know… he just… disappeared five years ago…" she said.

"Miss Lockheart, we don't want to surprise you but… did he say that he's going to ShinRa to…" Reeve trailed off when Scarlet just blurted out, "There's a man who died near one of the reactors five years ago… and his surname is Lockheart. A Soldier shot him and… his I.D. card said that he lives in Nibelheim and from what I can remember… it was written there that in case of emergency, we should notify…" she trailed off upon seeing the tears in Tifa's eyes.

Tifa clenched her fists. "…I know… I've seen his I.D. it says there… to notify me… or Rufus…" she said.

"Yes, your name's written there but… Rufus?" Scarlet asked.

"If my name's there, why didn't you know that it was me?" Rufus demanded with a confused look on his face.

"It just says there _Tifa_ or _Rufus_. Then indicated under her name was _daughter_ and under your name _son-in-law_." Scarlet explained.

Tifa somewhat lost the will to be very sad and cry because of the fact that it was only at that moment that she had realized that her father was already dead. 

Rufus raised an eyebrow and stood up. "Son-in-law?" he asked in disbelief.

Vincent smiled at them. "Well… I guess Mr. Lockheart's got his plans, huh?" he asked.

Scarlet just stood up and went to Rufus, holding his hands and squeezing them gently. "President Rufus, we're so sorry for making this stupid mistake… but… we're on your side now. And we're going to do everything to help you get back in ShinRa and throw that Cloud Strife out of there. Please forgive us," she said with a sheepish look on her face.

Rufus withdrew his hands from her with a frown on his face before looking at Reeve, then at Tifa.

Tifa smiled gently at him. "Can't change the past, Rufus… we just have to prepare for the future," she thought silently, hoping that they shared the same thought.

Rufus got the message from the look in her eyes. With that, he turned to Reeve and Scarlet. "Apology accepted," he declared.

Reeve smiled happily and Scarlet cheered happily, letting out a joyful "Kyah!" and jumped around the place, and then hugging Reeve tightly, somewhat shocking Tifa, Rufus, Vincent, Dark Nation and Red XIII… and even Reeve himself.

Upon realizing what she just did, she pushed Reeve away and just sat down, dusting herself, while her face turned scarlet red as she began to mutter curses under her breath.

Reeve was also blushing but he just looked up at the ceiling, pretending not to feel anything unusual.

Tifa giggled.

Rufus just shook his head in disbelief as he rolled his eyes.

Vincent shrugged and stepped forward. "Well then… I guess based from what they were telling you a while ago, you shouldn't be going back to ShinRa at this kind of situation." He told Rufus.

Rufus turned to him. "What do you suggest we do?" he asked.

"Hide somewhere else… somewhere a little bit far from this place…" Vincent suggested.

Tifa turned to Rufus. "We could go back to Nibelheim and think of a strategy there." she told him.

Rufus nodded. "Fine… we'll be leaving at around dawn." He said with a slight smile on his face before turning back to Vincent. "Could I interest you for a job in ShinRa?" he asked.

Vincent just stared at him in disbelief. "I worked there before as a Turk." He admitted finally.

"Yeah, I know, I've seen your records before," Rufus told him.

"What position are you going to give him?" Reeve asked.

"He can take over Heidegger's job. After all, I've got this feeling that the fat man's dead… based from what Scarlet had mentioned that Cloud's finishing off everyone who were involved." Rufus explained.

"I don't really know…" Vincent stammered, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

Rufus patted his shoulder. "It will be fine. The bastard Hojo's dead. He can't do anything to you anymore," he told him reassuringly.

Vincent shrugged. "Whatever you say, President Rufus. I'll be glad to serve ShinRa again… just as long as you're the President and you have Miss Lockheart here as your First Lady… and not Cloud Strife and Aerith Gainsborough under those positions mentioned," he said with a modest smile on his face.

*** 


	19. 19

Switching Places 

            **_By_**: General Quistis

            **_Disclaimer_**: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh. I don't own anything…but the story plot…

**_Author's_**_ **Note**_: I'm so sorry if there's this OOC tendency for this fic… I have to transform their personalities… like Cloud turning evil whatsoever… -.-' Please forgive meh… ;_; 

And by the way, if you want to see some fic-art or drawings regarding this fic and all my other fics, just go to my site: …thank you very much. Oh, and please don't forget to read & review this one. =)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Nineteen

            "I'm sorry if we don't have a car or a chopper to take us here to Nibelheim, President Rufus," Reeve said apologetically.

"It's fine, really. I'm used to living the simple life… taking the train and then walking…" Rufus told them reassuringly with quite a proud smile on his face before turning to Tifa and taking her hand, squeezing it gently. "Thanks to you, Teef," he whispered softly.

She smiled shyly as she looked up at him with a gentle look on her face. "You sound pleased," she said.

"Your dad once told me that to be able to survive living in this kind of world that we have right now, one needs to be able to take care of himself… knowing how to live simply and loving it… at least that's how I understood it," he told her.

"Well, I guess that's what he really meant by that, Rufus," she said reassuringly.

Vincent, Scarlet, Reeve, Red XIII and Dark Nation were listening to their conversation and they found Rufus to be very knowledgeable already about himself and the world around him.

"He's really going to be a very good President for ShinRa," Vincent told them with a voice loud enough for only them to hear except for Tifa and Rufus.

"I think so too. He understands his staff and communicates with them effectively… and he's very smart too," Red XIII replied.

"Kyah… I can't wait until he gets into office and that Cloud steps down from the pedestal." Scarlet said.

"What I can't understand about Cloud is that… he doesn't have gratitude. Didn't he even consider that maybe if it weren't for us, he wouldn't be molded into that kind of a smart and powerful person he is right now?" Reeve asked.

"Money makes you greedy… same with power… and some people are just arrogant enough to become too proud of themselves, they turn stuck-up and forget about concern for others… one day, Cloud will just find out that the only thing he cares about is himself." Vincent explained.

"I hope Aerith could prevent that… I have faith in her…" Scarlet thought silently.

Rufus stopped walking, so did they. "So, where do you guys want to stay? Rent some rooms at an inn, the ShinRa Mansion or Tifa's house?" he asked.

"If we rent rooms at an inn, our names would be registered there and we don't have enough money. We can't use our credit cards because we'll be detected by ShinRa that we're here." Vincent told them.

"My house is quite small…" Tifa added.

Rufus turned his gaze to the old ShinRa Mansion that still stood tall despite the years. 

Vincent stepped forward to Rufus, "If you're thinking of staying there, I think you'd better let us clean it for awhile. You and Tifa can stay in her house while me and the others take care of the ShinRa Mansion." He suggested.

"Vincent's right." Red XIII backed up.

Tifa nodded. "Okay then… let's go, Rufus." And she turned back to Reeve, Scarlet, Red XIII and Vincent. "Don't worry about us, we can protect ourselves." She said with a wink as she showed them her right fist.

Rufus smiled slyly at Reeve and Scarlet, "I still haven't forgotten my shooting lessons, don't worry," he told them.

Reeve and Scarlet both sighed in relief. "Kyah… that's good, President Rufus. We thought that since you're off from ShinRa for several years, you'd be forgetting everything," the latter said.

Rufus frowned at them. "Don't be ridiculous; I'm not that stupid, you know?" he snapped before going to the other direction with Tifa. "I'll see you later this afternoon," he told them without turning back.

*** 

            "Great… just great! Heidegger's dead… Reeve, Scarlet, Elena and Reno are missing… and we're stuck here in ShinRa with Cloud Strife, Aerith Gainsborough and Palmer…" Tseng muttered as he stood up from his office chair and turned to Rude. "What time is it?" he asked.

"2pm, sir," Rude replied.

"Cloud said by this afternoon…" Tseng recalled about the execution and then shook his head in disbelief. "Well, it's past the deadline… no trace of them… they could've gotten out of Midgar… and hid someplace else," he said.

"I hope they did," Rude pointed out.

"Yeah… me too…" Tseng said with a worried look on his face.

They were interrupted when somebody started to knock on the office door.

"Come in," Tseng called out.

Palmer entered with an angry look on his face. "You guys owe me an explanation on why we're the only ones left here…" he told them.

"Don't ask me, I also don't know!" Tseng wailed in total impatience.

Palmer sat down on the chair facing Tseng's office desk. "You weren't able to find them?" he asked.

"Yeah. And Cloud can't do anything about it; he wants to find them, then he should go on and find them himself! Maybe if he leaves, we can get President Rufus back here and make him sit down on his _throne_." Tseng pointed out with a sarcastic smile on his face as he went to the window and looked outside.

"Better shut up or he might hear you. You know how sensitive he is now… and I really don't believe that Scarlet killed Hojo and Heidegger…" Palmer pointed out.

"Who would believe that anyway? I know how Scarlet hated those geezers but she wouldn't kill them unless told to do so," Tseng said.

Silence.

"Aerith said she'd do her part in helping us in this situation…" Tseng explained with a soft tone, keeping his gaze on the windowpane.

"What can that poor girl do? She's been in Cloud's bedroom all day and she hasn't been eating for more than 12 hours already!" Palmer pointed out.

"What? But… where's Cloud?" Tseng asked.

"He's in his office doing his work there…" Palmer said.

Without thinking, Tseng just left the room.

Palmer and Rude got up and went after him. They followed silently until they reached the master's bedroom. Tseng knocked on the door. "Miss Gainsborough?" he called out.

No answer.

Tseng frowned slightly.

"You think she's okay?" Rude asked.

Tseng shook his head in disbelief before opening the door and entering. He scanned the whole room and frowned when he still saw the bloodstains on the carpet.

Rude nudged him upon seeing Aerith standing by the window, looking outside with a blank stare.

"Miss Gainsborough," Tseng began as he approached her.

Aerith did not seem to hear him or notice him; she was just staring outside, he eyes wide in total blankness. 

"Oh my God… what did that spiky-headed moronic blonde do to her?" Palmer muttered miserably as he gently tapped Aerith's arm.

Aerith slowly turned her gaze to Tseng and she started to cry.

The three men were surprised and felt confused as they watched Aerith cover her face and turn away from all of them.

"Are you okay?" Tseng asked.

She did not answer. She just kept on crying and moved away from all of them.

"I think we should just leave her alone…" Rude whispered to Tseng.

*** 

*** 

**_A year later…_**

            "It's been a year now and still no sign of them nor AVALANCHE…" Cloud stated flatly.

Tseng just remained silent.

Aerith just stared into empty space as she sat quietly on a chair beside Cloud's.

Tseng, Rude and Palmer knew that the girl never spoke to them ever since Heidegger's death… that gave them the hint that Cloud must've killed the old man in front of Aerith.

They couldn't help but pity her.

When he didn't receive any reply from everyone in the room, Cloud just turned to his computer and began to check on the database of Midgar. "I'm quite sure that they're still hiding somewhere…" he told them.

Aerith looked down and stood up. She looked at Cloud with a tired smile on her face before proceeding outside.

"Are you still angry at them, President Rufus?" Palmer asked.

"Yes," Cloud stated flatly before standing up. "I'll just go and talk to Aerith," he said.

*** 

            Aerith stopped walking when she heard Cloud's footsteps from behind her. She turned around to face him with a tired look on her face.

"Where are you going?" he asked her.

She looked up at him as he neared her but she was silent.

"Aerith," he began.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"You are not Rufus ShinRa… you are Cloud Strife… why are you doing this?" she asked.

He fell silent for a while but he answered with a blank look on his face, "Revenge."

She just shook her head. "Did you realize how many lives you're threatening? Not only Tifa and Rufus… but also AVALANCHE and… the whole of Midgar…" she said softly.

He shook his head and just turned away. "You don't understand, Aerith… they all ruined my life. If Heidegger didn't find me, I wouldn't be here. If Scarlet and Reeve just objected to his stupid idea, I wouldn't be here… If Rufus didn't run away, I wouldn't be here… if Tifa did not insist that Rufus stayed with her, I wouldn't be here…" he said.

"So you're going to kill Scarlet, Reeve, Tifa and Rufus just because of that?" she asked with a frown.

He turned back to her. "Do you remember what I was trying to tell you on the night Heidegger died? I told you to help me look for Rufus but I was interrupted when Heidegger entered. You missed the whole point. I wanted you to talk to Rufus because this is very important to me…" he began.

"What, convince him to die in your power?" she cut off.

"No… Aerith… c'mon, I'm not all that bad… I'm not crazy either… I just… I just want to end all of these, okay?" he asked with a pleading look on his face.

She fell silent. "Wh…what are you going to do?" she asked.

He just smiled at her. "You'll know once he gets here…" he told her.


	20. 20

Switching Places 

            **_By_**: General Quistis

            **_Disclaimer_**: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh. I don't own anything…but the story plot…

**_Author's_**_ **Note**_: I'm so sorry if there's this OOC tendency for this fic… I have to transform their personalities… like Cloud turning evil whatsoever… -.-' Please forgive meh… ;_; 

And by the way, if you want to see some fic-art or drawings regarding this fic and all my other fics, just go to my site: …thank you very much. Oh, and please don't forget to read & review this one. =)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Twenty

            "Midgar's been quiet lately… I wonder what Cloud's up to now…" Scarlet snorted with a snotty look on her face.

"Maybe he finally gave up…" Reeve pointed out.

"Well at least it's a good thing that he isn't suspecting a thing about us living in this old Mansion… Kyah…" she said.

"As if he really gives a damn about this place…" he said.

"Kyah… you're right. Knowing his revenge thing, maybe he's also planning to burn this place down." She said. 

Reeve was about to say something else but he was cut off when he heard roaring thunder from outside and the rain started to pour down. "Uh-oh… here comes the storm…" he told them.

They turned to the doorway of the living room when they heard some heavy footsteps approaching.

Scarlet smiled when she saw Tifa coming in with Dark Nation. "Kyah… good afternoon, Miss Lockheart," she greeted.

"Hello, Scarlet," Tifa greeted with a cheery smile on her face as she sat down on the couch facing her. Dark Nation circled around the couch before sitting down on the floor.

"Where's President Rufus?" Reeve asked.

"He's upstairs in his office, writing some plans." Tifa replied before looking outside the window. "There's a storm huh?" she asked.

"Yeah… the weather news stated it this morning…" he told her.

Tifa turned to them with a serious look on her face. "How much longer do you guys think this will last?" she asked.

"The storm?" Scarlet asked.

"Depends… this storm will just go away after some hours or some days… the storm with Cloud on it will go away only if he learns how to be considerate." Reeve pointed out.

Everyone fell silent.

Tifa looked down to the floor with a solemn look on her face. "I still have faith in Aerith…" she said softly.

Scarlet sighed heavily. "Kyah……. Miss Gainsborough said that she would do everything she could…" she said.

"We'll just have to wait, I guess… but I hope she is okay…" Tifa said sadly.

*** 

            Cloud faced the bathroom mirror with a pair of scissors in his hands. He looked at himself with a frown on his face before he finally grabbed a lock of his spiky hair and started to cut it off. He let the strands fall to the bathroom counter, scattering around the place. He clenched his teeth and took a deep breath before continuing to cut the rest of his hair…

*** 

            "What's for dinner tonight?" Rufus asked.

"Miss Lockheart's doing the cooking, President Rufus. She said it's a surprise…" Reeve explained.

Rufus just smiled before turning back to his papers. "Check on this, Reeve. Is this fine?" he asked before handing them to him.

Reeve scanned the papers for a while and raised his eyebrows. "Well… I could say that this is much better than your father's plans before… and yes, it's definitely better than Cloud's plans." He said with a stunned smile on his face.

Rufus flipped his hair as he smiled proudly. "Of course." He said before standing up. "Well, I'd better check on Tifa." He told Reeve. He stopped on his tracks when they heard the doorbell. 

They froze. 

"Who could that be?" Reeve asked.

Rufus frowned and bit his lower lip before proceeding out of his office and down the stairs to the front door. He held his shotgun tightly behind him, just in case it was Cloud or anyone involved with Cloud.

Reeve remained by the stairs, observing quietly, while Scarlet watched from the doorway to the kitchen.

Rufus's frown deepened as he opened the door, revealing a young lady that was very wet because of the storm. She had muddy shoes and her pink dress was already very dirty and muddy. She was shivering because of the cold but she had managed to flash a weak smile at Rufus. Her green eyes reflected too much fatigue. "I… I've found you at last…" she said softly with a trembling tone.

Rufus raised an eyebrow. "Who is this woman?!" he thought in disbelief.

Reeve rushed to Rufus, while Scarlet covered her mouth in disbelief. "M…Miss Gainsborough!" she thought silently.

Before Aerith could say another word, she just fainted, but before she could land on the floor, Rufus had managed to catch her.

Rufus eyed Reeve and Scarlet. "Hey, help me with her… who's she anyway?" he demanded.

Reeve assisted Rufus and helped him carry Aerith.

Scarlet approached them to close the front door. "She is Aerith Gainsborough, Cloud's girlfriend," she explained.

Rufus let go of Aerith and stared at her in disgust. "She is Cloud Strife's girlfriend?" he asked in disbelief.

"Kyah…Yes, but please, don't be mad at her… she's a nice girl." Scarlet said with a reassuring look on her face as she touched the girl's forehead. She made a face. "Kyah… she's got a high fever…" she announced.

Rufus thought for a while before shaking his head in confusion. "Ugh… fine, take her to one of the unoccupied rooms upstairs and run the heater in that room," he told them before rushing to the kitchen.

Tifa instantly turned around, facing Rufus with a surprised look on her face. She held a potholder with her left hand and a bottle soy sauce on her other hand. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Do you know any Aerith Gainsborough?" he asked.

Tifa blinked. "Yes, why? She's Cloud's girlfriend… remember, I told you about her before," she said.

Rufus raised his eyebrows. "Oh yeah… I remember…" he turned away, shoving his hands inside his trouser pockets. "She's upstairs with a high fever." He said.

"What?!" Tifa placed the potholder and the soy sauce on the kitchen counter beside the stove and grabbed Rufus's shoulder. "Aerith is here?" she asked.

Rufus faced her. "I don't know how she knew where we are, but she just arrived and she fainted because she's sick so I told Reeve and Scarlet to take care of her upstairs," he said.

"But… what is she doing here?" she asked.

"I'm not sure either… what if she's a spy or something…" he muttered under his breath as he examined the nervous look on Tifa's face.

She shook her head. "I hope not… I don't think Aerith could easily be influenced by such a person like Cloud. I believe in Aerith," she said with a reassuring smile before leaving Rufus in the kitchen. "Could you take care of the cooking for a while, Rufus? I'll just go and check on Aerith," she called out.

Rufus face-faulted. "Fine…" he muttered before checking the stew and grabbing the potholder.

*** 

            Tseng kept on knocking on Cloud's door but no one's answering. "I wonder what's happening… he's not answering," he thought silently with quite a worried look on his face.

Rude stood quietly beside him as he continued to knock.

"President Rufus! President Rufus! Are you in there?" Tseng called out again.

"I think we'd better check him out inside." Rude told him.

Tseng, without hesitation, just grabbed the doorknob and twisted it to open the door. They stepped inside, gazing around. The bed looked so messy and there were clothes everywhere on the floor, on the couch, by the windowpane, on the bed, on the electric fan and even on the chandelier up in the ceiling. Tseng raised an eyebrow. "Goodness… it's even messier than Reno's room!" he remarked.

Rude looked around, examining the whole place. 

"Doesn't he have servants to fix this bedroom?" Tseng asked.

"Don't you remember? He fired everyone!" Rude stated.

"What are you Turks doing here?" 

The two turned their gazes to the bathroom door and saw Cloud standing by the doorway. Their eyes widened and they took a few steps backwards upon seeing Cloud looking so much like Rufus (except for the height). 

"What is he thinking now?" Tseng thought.

"Oh no… now they've got the same hairdo!" Rude thought.

Cloud had this tired look on his face as he stared at them.

"Uhm… President Rufus… nice haircut!" Tseng remarked.

Cloud just stared at him and then just walked out of the room.

Rude adjusted his glasses. "What's wrong with him?" he asked.

Tseng shrugged.

*** 

            "What happened to you? Why did you come here?" Tifa asked with a worried look on her face as she helped Aerith dry her hair.

"Cloud told me to look for Rufus… so I figured that you came here… I don't know how…" Aerith replied with a sad smile on her face.

Tifa scanned the look on Aerith's face and she somewhat felt sad for her, "How's Cloud?" she asked.

"He's okay…" Aerith replied glumly.

"Really?" Tifa asked with a probing tone.

Aerith was silent for a while.

Tifa put down the towels and patted Aerith's shoulder reassuringly, "You can tell me everything, I won't tell Rufus," she said with a wink.

Aerith shrugged as she sighed heavily. "I… I don't really know how to start… I'm happy with him but… he's been feeling down lately and the past events have caused him to act like some crazy person… I just can't help but feel sad for Cloud… and all I wanted to do was to help him, but I know that he also needs to help himself too… unfortunately, everybody sees that he isn't doing anything about it… though really, I believe in him… I trust Cloud so much… I'm sure he is going to change… he's just hurt because of what happened…" she trailed off as she began to shed a few tears.

Tifa was quiet for a while but she spoke up again, "What does he want with Rufus?" she asked.

"I don't know… but he said that once I find Rufus, I should go back to Midgar with him," Aerith replied.

Tifa blinked. "But why?" 

"I don't know what's going on in his mind, but I trust Cloud… maybe he's got a plan…" Aerith told her.

Tifa thought for a while. "I think we'd better discuss this first with Cloud… but I'm not going to let Rufus go back there without any assurance of his safety." She said sternly.

Aerith frowned slightly. "C'mon, Tifa! It's not like I'm going to rape your boyfriend!?" she said jokingly.

Tifa giggled. "Okay, okay…but I just want to make sure that Cloud is not going to kill Rufus!" she said.

Aerith thought for a while. "Okay, here's a deal… though this is nasty… if Cloud kills Rufus, you can kill Cloud." She said with a nervous smile on her face.

Tifa blinked and thought for a while. "Uh… okay…" she said weakly before standing up. "Just stay here for a while, I'll go and talk to Rufus about this matter," she said before leaving the room.

Aerith was silent as she lied down on the bed again, staring up at the ceiling. "I trust Cloud… he won't kill Rufus…" she thought with a hopeful smile on her face.


	21. 21

Switching Places 

            **_By_**: General Quistis

            **_Disclaimer_**: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh. I don't own anything…but the story plot…

**_Author's_**_ **Note**_: I'm so sorry if there's this OOC tendency for this fic… I have to transform their personalities… like Cloud turning evil whatsoever… -.-' Please forgive meh… ;_; Oh, and please don't forget to read & review this one.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Chapter Twenty-One

*** 

7 days later…

            The man from the train ticket booth handed Rufus two first class tickets. "Nice to have you here to ride our new train, President Rufus," he said.

Rufus did not know whether to smile or not because Aerith, Elena, Scarlet and Tifa had to fix his hair and put tons of gel on it so that they could shape it into Cloud's hairdo. "Great… all the people know that their president has spiky hair… better change that image once I get back in the office," Rufus thought with a fake smile before turning to Aerith. "Now, what?" he asked her.

"Let's go," Aerith told him as she took his hand and led the way to the train.

"Do you really have to hold my hand?!" Rufus asked, feeling embarrassed. He wasn't used to letting other girls touch him, except for Tifa. 

"I'm Aerith Gainsborough and you are Cloud Strife in this scene, so just play along," Aerith whispered.

When some old folks passed by to greet them, "Ohohohohoho! How sweet! It's President Rufus and his girlfriend Aerith! Good morning, you two lovebirds!"

Rufus's mouth dropped open.

"I know, you're shocked. Let's just hurry," Aerith said with a patient smile as she sped up a little.

*** 

            "How come Cloud isn't here yet?" Tseng asked.

"He hasn't been attending meetings for a week already… I'm beginning to get tired of this… trips from here to Rocket Town are becoming more expensive for me!" Palmer snapped impatiently as he leaned back on his seat.

"And I haven't seen him for a week already… I wonder where he went to?" Tseng asked.

Rude looked at the empty chairs in the conference room and he somewhat missed the others. "Gee, I wonder if we can be complete again…" he admitted.

"What do you mean?" Palmer asked.

"Scarlet, Reeve, Heidegger, Reno, Elena… and President Rufus," he said.

"As long as the President Rufus that you're talking about isn't Cloud Strife," Palmer replied.

"And what's with him cutting his hair?" Tseng asked.

"Maybe he wanted to be Rufus completely. Poor kid's got an identity crisis," Palmer explained.

"And where did Aerith go?" Tseng asked.

"She just left one day and did not come back…" Rude pointed out.

Palmer looked at his watch and saw that it was already 4:00pm. "That does it! In five minutes, if he doesn't arrive, I'm out of here and I'm going to quit being the head of the Space Development Division!" he snapped angrily as he pounded impatiently on the table.

"You're not going anywhere, Palmer."

All eyes turned to the doorway of the conference room when they heard a smooth, low, masculine voice speak up.

Their eyes grew wide in awe when they saw a spiky-haired young man standing there with Aerith Gainsborough.

"P…President Rufus!" Tseng, Palmer and Rude all said in unison.

Rufus flipped his hair. "So, are we going to start the meeting or not?" he asked as he approached his seat and sat down. He began to scan the documents prepared in front of him. "You still have those Mako Reactors running?" he asked.

Aerith smiled gently at Tseng, Palmer and Rude before exiting.

"S…sir, where have you been? How come… your hair grew back again and you seem taller?" Tseng asked in disbelief.

"You haven't seen me for seven days, of course I look taller and my hair's longer! And yes, I looked all over Midgar for Aerith and finally, I found her." Rufus snapped. "Now, answer my question before," he continued.

"Uhm… yes, sir. The Mako Reactors are still running," Palmer replied.

"Well then, stop all the operations." Rufus stated.

"WHAT?!" Palmer and Tseng exclaimed.

Rufus flashed them an impatient look which made them just nod their head in agreement. "Yes, sir…" they replied nervously.

Outside, Aerith stood by the closed door listening to their meeting. She smiled in relief. "Finally… Rufus is back… I wonder where Cloud is…" she thought silently before proceeding down the hallway.

The meeting went on for two more hours, but they did not find it boring…

"Gee… Cloud's ideas are becoming better… I wonder what happened to him? Maybe he went under rehab… heheh…" Tseng was thinking silently as he continued to write the plans on his notebook, but he stopped upon hearing Palmer's question. "Your excellency, I'm just wondering… no offense, but don't you think we should just call you Cloud instead of Rufus? Besides, it's your real name… you should be the one to be promoted to the people as President, not Rufus… correct?"

Tseng and Rude froze.

Rufus was quiet but he licked his lips and flipped his hair. "That won't be necessary anymore, Palmer. The people know their president. I am Rufus ShinRa. They will know me as me." He told them reassuringly with a sly smile on his face.

They were all silent for a few seconds before Rufus caught their attention again by clearing his throat and speaking up again, "Anyway, back to our budget… since this marketing plan is only good for this season, I will just throw in 500,000,000 Gil for everything. Fair enough? Any excess after this season, we'll add up to the expenses for the next season."

Everyone was silent.

"Gee… he really improved… and he really seems different… I wonder what happened…" Rude thought silently.

"Hah… this is more like it. I think his plans are more effective now…" Palmer thought with a quiet smile.

Tseng nodded in satisfaction. "Perfect…" he thought, finally getting it now. He scanned Rufus's face and smiled slightly. "He _is_ Rufus ShinRa…" he thought.

Rufus smiled proudly at all of them. "Finally, I'm back… now to get Tifa…" he thought silently before saying out loud, "Any questions?"

"None, sir," the three replied.

"Oh, and by the way, you mentioned earlier in this meeting that there should be a Vice President? Well then, the position is reserved for my future heir… don't worry, I'll be marrying Tifa as soon as possible." Rufus continued with a wink before standing up and flipping his hair again. "I'll just be in my room." He told them before exiting.

Rude and Palmer froze. "Did he just say _Tifa_?" the latter asked. 

"I thought his girlfriend's name is Aerith?" Rude asked.

Tseng shook his head. "You don't get it, do you? I think that's Rufus… the real Rufus!" he told them.

Rude and Palmer raised their eyebrows.

*** 

            Tifa swallowed hard as she gazed up at the night sky. She still felt so worried about Rufus. "I wonder how things are already doing in Midgar? Did he make it there safely?" she thought silently.

She was interrupted when she heard footsteps from behind her. It was Elena.

"Mind if I join you here in the balcony?" Elena asked cheerfully.

"No," Tifa replied weakly as she moved aside so that Elena could sit down on the bench.

Elena sighed heavily as she sat down beside Tifa. "What are you doing here? Don't you wanna come inside?" she asked.

"Nah…" Tifa replied.

Elena stifled a giggle. "You miss Rufus?' she asked.

Tifa nodded shyly, feeling her cheeks reddening. 

Elena scanned the view in front of them. "Wow… you can practically see the whole town in here…" she said in awe.

"Yeah…" Tifa said with a slight smile.

"Where's your house?" Elena asked.

Tifa pointed. "Over there… that's where Rufus and I grew up… and that's Cloud's house. It's been empty ever since he started living here…" she trailed off when she noticed something. There was some light inside Cloud's house. She frowned slightly. "Did he even sell that house?" she asked aloud.

"Huh?" Elena asked.

Tifa got up to take a better view. "Someone's in there," she said.

Elena got up and joined her in looking, "But…you said that that house had been empty ever since Heidegger and the others kidnapped him," she told her.

"Yeah, but…" Tifa frowned. "There's something fishy going on here… let's take a look," she told her.

Elena blinked. "Are you serious?! What if it's a trap?" she asked.

"Aw, c'mon, Elena! We're not defenseless damsels in distress! We know how to kick asses! Now, let's go!" Tifa grabbed Elena's hand and led the way to the front door. "Can't we inform the others first?" Elena asked.

"It's going to take time and besides, knowing Scarlet, she wouldn't allow us to go… most especially me!" Tifa explained as they finally got out of the Mansion.

"Why are you so excited to know if someone's really living there?" Elena asked.

"Coz if it's Cloud, I can be certain that Rufus will be safe…" Tifa explained.

"What if there are ghosts in there?"

"Elena?!"

"Just think of the possibilities, Tifa!"

Tifa sighed miserably and stopped walking the moment they finally reached the house. "There are no ghosts, Elena." She said before knocking  on the door.

"ACK! What are you doing?!" Elena asked.

"I just knocked," Tifa said.

"But…" Elena trailed off when the door slowly opened and there was this blonde guy who looks so much like Rufus, but he was shorter.

Tifa and Elena's mouths dropped open. "Wh…what the…" the latter stammered while the former stared unbelievably at the man.

Cloud narrowed his eyes at them. "I see… if it isn't Tifa and Elena…" he mumbled as he scanned the looks on their faces.

"What happened to his spiky hair?" Tifa thought silently as she stared at his head. "Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be in Midgar enjoying all the luxuries that ShinRa could offer you?" she asked frankly.

Cloud was silent for a while before replying. "Rufus and I already had a serious talk." He began.

"About what?" Elena asked.

"Switching places," he replied with a serious look on his face.

They were silent.

Cloud turned to Tifa. "Maybe you could consider going back to him now. He needs you, not Aerith, you know?" he said with a wink.

Tifa raised an eyebrow. 

Elena giggled. "Heehee! At one point you had me thinking that when you said _switching places_, I also thought that you'd be switching girlfriends… eheheheh… I'm glad that didn't come to be because I'm really going to be confused! I mean, I know that you and Aerith had been very close with each other even though I really didn't see much of it, but in President Rufus's  case, I'd say that he and Miss Lockheart are really good for each other and they're also very close and…"

"Elena, you talk too much," Cloud said frankly with a ridiculous look on his face.

Elena smiled sheepishly and covered her mouth in an effort not to laugh.

With that, Cloud spoke up again, looking at Tifa. "I'm sure what you mean when I said that Rufus and I switched places." He said before he closed the door.

Tifa and Elena stood outside his house quietly.

"How rude…" Elena muttered.

Tifa smiled. "At least I think everything's gonna be okay now… I hope…" she said softly.

Elena looked up at the skies when she noticed a shooting star. She smiled and turned to Tifa. "Let's go back to the Mansion, Miss Lockheart," she said gently.

Tifa nodded. "Okay." She said.

Cloud watched from his window as the two girls walked away from his house. He smiled, contented, as he looked away and leaned against the wall, sighing heavily as he examined the whole place. "Well… I missed this place… it's better than the ShinRa Mansion or Junon or ShinRa HQ in Midgar…" he said softly.

He could remember that Rufus even offered him to be the vice president of the ShinRa Electric Power Company since he has experience and the skills to be able to do so, but he had to refuse the offer. 

He knew that all the riches and all the luxuries in the world could never take the place of simple happiness… just loving Aerith and having her beside him is enough to make him survive living without those things… besides, those riches almost made him lose her, right?

The thought of starting a family with Aerith there in Nibelheim made him smile.

…and he couldn't wait to see her again…

He stopped when he turned back to the window again, seeing his reflection on the glass and frowned, looking at his hair. "You'd better grow back and be spiky again…" he scolded it.

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-end-


End file.
